Shadow of Sun & Moon
by Janie94
Summary: [Post-The Avengers, pre-Iron Man 3 and pre-Thor: The Dark World] Male/Male Pairing! Odin gives Thor and Loki fifteen days to search Midgard for Thanos, otherwise Loki will be sentenced to death. While their quest leads them from one realm to another, both of them realize that their feelings for each other are more than just brotherly. But will they give their love a chance?
1. Chapter 1

Once again, Thanos allowed his gaze to linger on the planet Earth, a place inhabited by a weak species called humans. That was the place where he had set his evil plan in motion just a year ago. Until now he had waited for the Avengers to be blinded by their 'victory', but the time was finally right. The Avengers might be strong as a team, but he would have no problems to strike them down when they were apart. So he would take them one by one! He just had to make sure they would let their guards down, then he could use his hidden weapon and destroy them from the inside... 

_Malibu, California, USA, Midgard_

_One year ago_

„What do you mean, you can't do this anymore?" asked Tony Stark with a mix of confusion and anger in his voice. His assistant and girlfriend Pepper Potts rolled her eyes and her voice suddenly became loud.

"Look, I understand that you just want to help people and that's great!"

"But?"

"But while you do that, you leave me behind and all I've got to do is worry if you're gonna make it back alive!"  
>He should have known. Almost all of their fights circled around this.<p>

"Pepper, I thought we've been through this! I risk my life, every time I put on that suit and try to rescue people. I almost got killed fighting Obadiah and Vanko. You didn't leave me back then. What's different now?"  
>The moment he finished he realized he had said the wrong question.<p>

"Tony, you are not seriously asking that, right? I've watched you on TV and I saw what you did in New York. I've watched you flying through the portal and that portal closing!"

"Yeah, but I made it out, didn't I?"

"You fell back like a puppy! The moment that green thing -"

"Its name is Hulk."

"- laid you on the ground, I thought you were dead."

"But I'm here now!"

Pepper sighed.  
>"You really don't get it, do you? I constantly have to worry about your life and if you're going on like this, it won't be long until I'm standing next to your grave. I can't live with that fear!"<p>

The anger was slowly gaining the upper hand in Tony's mind.  
>"I'm saving other people's lives, that's the purpose why I didn't die in Afghanistan two years ago!"<p>

For a moment there was silence, then Pepper's expression turned cold.  
>"Well, it doesn't seem like there'll be a slot for me in your life. If you don't change, I'll leave."<p>

Tony's mind went blank.  
>"What do you mean <em>leave<em>?"

"I'm breaking up with you. I deserve better."  
>She turned around on her heels and left his apartment. <p>

_Asgard_

_Present time_

Thor awoke to a knock on his door.

"My prince? Your Majesty wants to see you immediately."  
>Sleepily he rose to his feet and dressed himself. He followed the guard who - to his surprise – neither headed for his parent's chambers nor the throne room but the dungeons. They passed all the medieval looking cells followed by the curious eyes of the prisoners. At the end of the long corridor, they took the passage to their left and came to a halt in front of a white high-tech cell specifically designed for the thin black-haired man inside: Loki. Thor stepped closer until he stood at his father's side, who watched Loki with concern. Thor noticed that Loki looked horrible: His always so pale skin was covered in sweat and although he was sitting, he was undeniably way too much supported by the wall behind him. Thor had never seen his brother looking as weak as that.<p>

"Father, what is wrong with him?"  
>Odin took his time with the answer while turning his gaze from Loki to Thor.<p>

"It seems like a sickness has befallen him."

"He is a god. He never gets sick."

As if to proof him wrong Loki's body began to tremble lightly. Odin didn't change his neutral tone.  
>"Apparently it is possible. I just wanted you to know."<p>

With these words he turned around and left with the guard who had escorted Thor here.

"Aren't you going to do something about that?" asked Thor with growing anger in his voice, but Odin had already left. A weak voice caught his attention.

"You still do care for me, do you not?"

Thor was too surprised by hearing that voice to answer. In that whole year of imprisonment Loki had only answered when being interrogated – sometimes not even then. Thor took another step towards him so there was only a pane of glass dividing both men once again taking in Loki's bad shape.  
>"What is wrong with you, Loki?"<p>

A little smile ghosted Loki's face, but failed to reach his green eyes.  
>"You should not care for me that much considering all I have done."<p>

His words brought back too many bad memories and Thor had trouble keeping the anger out of his voice.  
>"I am trying not to be emotionally compromised. Do not mistake that for me still caring about you! I did once."<br>Thor crouched down, so he was at eye-level with his brother:  
>"I will not make that mistake again! There is nothing but hatred I feel for you!"<br>He turned around to leave but stopped when he heard Loki raising his voice.

"To be able to hate someone you have to care for him deeply. That is why I turned my back on father that easily. He never loved me, but even now he does not care enough to hate me."

Thor thought about the words and finally dared to ask the question that had bothered him for far too long now.  
>"You and father have never been on best terms. I understand why you betrayed him, but why me?"<p>

Loki stood up, slowly locking eyes with Thor.  
>"I know it is hard for you to understand, but all my life I lived in your shadow. Everything was just about you. I could have dealt with that, we grew up as brothers after all. But even father's love all belonged to you. You had everything and I had nothing."<p>

Some time ago Thor might have not been able to grasp Loki's point, but he had changed during his time on Midgard. Still, there was one thing he wanted Loki to know.  
>"I am sorry for that. But you are wrong, you did have something."<br>None of his usual smirks but honest confusion clouded Loki's eyes until Thor continued.  
>"You had my love. I loved you more than any person I have ever met – even more than I loved our...my parents."<br>His brother looked at him like it was a new revelation which for him it probably was and it broke Thor's heart to watch Loki's hand touch the glass between them in a rare moment of weakness. Thor broke the eye contact.  
>"But not anymore. Now you really are left with nothing."<p>

He turned around and left the dungeons barely being able to suppress the tears in his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

_New York City, NY, USA, Midgard_

As the doors of the elevator closed, Silver's breathing sped up and she could hear her own heartbeat. The walls were made out of glass, so she was able to watch the different floors. The reconstructed Stark Tower already looked amazing from the outside, but from the inside it was utterly fascinating. Silver had been in quite some skyscrapers, but this one definitely took the cake of. She didn't have much time to admire the building though, because suddenly the elevator came to a halt and its doors opened, revealing an office and a young blond man wearing a black suit. He smiled at her.  
>"Miss Rakastava, it's great to finally meet you. My name is William Stancy. I will show you around on your first day."<p>

Silver calmed down at his friendly tone.  
>"That's very kind of you, Mr. Stancy."<p>

To her surprise he motioned her to walk down the stairs with him instead of using the elevator.  
>"I'll introduce you to your superior, Miss Romanoff."<p>

The sight of the woman felt like a blow in Silver's stomach: She was beautiful with her slender but not too thin figure and her red curls. At least she seemed to be likeable as she walked to Silver with a wide and honest smile on her lips:  
>"You must be Silver Rakastava, I guess. Welcome at Stark Industries."<p>

She held out her hand and Silver took it with an insecure smile that didn't slip the woman's attention.  
>"Please call me Natasha, I'm not too fond with all the politeness at work, it's hard to make friends that way."<p>

Silver couldn't help but like her. Natasha seemed to be very down to earth despite her high position in the company.  
>"I'm a bit curious who are going to be my colleagues."<p>

"You already met the first one."  
>Natasha's gaze turned to Stancy, then returned to Silver.<br>"He is quite new here, too, but there'll be two others who –"  
>Natasha was interrupted by a loud rumble from outside. Suddenly the office went quiet as everybody turned to look out of the window. The sky was dark with clouds, just one tiny point between two neighbored skyscrapers glowed in a bright blue.<p>

William Stancy was the one to ask the question.  
>"What on earth is that?"<p>

"I don't think that it is something out of this world, William" replied Natasha quite calmly, her eyes focusing on that spot.

Silver noticed that the point had turned into a line that looked like a crack and was still growing. Both she and William jumped at the unexpected noise of a pager at Natasha's belt.

Natasha took it.  
>"I'm on my way, Nick."<br>Then she spun around and hurried up the stairs until she arrived at the rooftop of the Stark Tower.

Silver looked at William in confusion.  
>"What is she doing?"<p>

"I have no idea."

But both their attentions were caught by a nearing helicopter which came to a halt over the Stark Tower. Silver began to chase after Natasha shouting back to William.  
>"I have to know what's going on!"<p>

When she entered the rooftop she saw a young man dressed in black who stood on top of one skid of the helicopter, a bow in one hand while he pulled Natasha up with the other. The helicopter flew closer to the rift and the stranger bent his bow to aim at it obviously waiting for someone. The blue began to glow nearly white and expanded to a big hole, then a creature entered landing on the Stark Tower, right in front of Silver. It had an upright figure quite similar to a very muscular human, but his skin had a mix of grey and purple, his face covered in ugly scars, his eyeballs a scary red and his iris the same glowing blue as the rift. He wore a golden armor that only covered the most important places of his body.

Closing his eyes he took a deep breath.  
>"Finally, I have entered Midgard."<br>He opened his eyes again, grinning wickedly at her.  
>"You have the honor to be my first victim, human."<p>

Silver was paralyzed in shock as he formed a small ball of energy in his hand and shot it at her. But before it reached her, another ball of energy coming from behind her collided with it. Confused she turned around to look at Iron Man landing beside her.  
>"Sorry to interrupt, but who the hell are you?"<p>

The creature smirked.  
>"I am Thanos, a titan born on the Saturn's moon of the same name. I remember you. You were the one to close the rift last time I tried to take over this realm."<p>

"Nice to know I have a fan in outer space. You can call me Iron Man, by the –"  
>He was cut off by another ball of energy who hit him with inhuman speed. The metal on Tony's chest was dented but otherwise he wasn't hurt.<p>

Thanos' grin had gone wider.  
>"How ironic that you were the one to prevent my plans last time and now you will be my first victim instead of that girl."<p>

A female voice entered the conversation.  
>"I don't think so."<p>

An arrow hit Thanos bouncing off his skin, but exploding just a second later. Silver just got a glimpse of Natasha and the archer turning around and jumping into the helicopter which immediately flew off into the distance. Then she felt someone wrapping his arms around her and before she was able to protest, the ground under her feet was gone and she instinctively held onto Iron Man as he followed the helicopter.

Thanos who didn't get more damage than a few light scratches from the explosion made no attempt of following them. Why should he, everything had gone according to plan…

_Asgard_

Despite his words Thor wasn't able to shake the worry about his brother off his mind. He was very unfocused during training which didn't slip his friends' attention.

"If you were this distracted in a real battle, you would be defeated by now" said Hogun, his face unreadable as always.  
>Thor didn't know what to respond since Hogun was right.<p>

Fandral put his sword down and laid a hand on Thor's shoulder.  
>"Instead of fighting you should get rid of what concerns you. Or should I say <em>who<em> concerns you?"

Thor winced.  
>"You would not be that eager for me to deal with that person if you knew who he was."<p>

Sif joined the Warrior's Three who had planted themselves in front of him.  
>"So we are talking about Loki, right?"<p>

"Sometimes it scares me how well you know me."

Volstagg shot him one of his famous wide smiles.  
>"We are your friends after all."<p>

"What is bothering you? He is locked up in a cell and he is cut off his magic. He cannot do any damage" said Sif, trying to calm him down.

Thor shook his head.  
>"It is not that. I… I think he is sick."<p>

There was silence. Everybody seemed to wait for the joke. Fandral was the first to break it.  
>"First of all Loki is a god, he cannot be sick, it is just not possible! "<br>Thor opened his mouth to interrupt him, but Fandral continued.  
>"And secondly he is the God of Mischief. It could just be a trick."<p>

"He is not able to perform his tricks since he cannot access his magic as you know already."

Volstagg was the one to respond.  
>"Did you tell the Allfather about this? He is far wiser than all of us put together!"<p>

"He already saw it with his own eyes, it was his idea Loki was ill. But he does not care."

Volstagg chuckled with a warm grin.  
>"I can hardly believe that. You and your brother are quite precious to him. Especially you, Thor. Do not forget, there is always purpose in what the Allfather does. If he did not help Loki, then he has a reason for that."<p>

Thor knew he was right, but still felt frustration.  
>"But it is my brother's health we are talking about! I was convinced that was one of the few things my father would not take lightly!"<p>

Once again Fandral joined the conversation.  
>"Then perhaps he wants YOU to do something about it."<p>

Thor took his words into consideration.  
>"But what can I do?"<p>

Now it was Fandral's turn to grin.  
>"Why do you not try to find out?"<p>

Not for the first time Thor felt pride rising inside his chest for having such loyal friends. He laid his hand on Fandral's shoulder and squeezed it.  
>"Thank you. It is what I should have done in the first place."<br>He left them ignoring Sif who was shouting warnings after him.

Ten minutes later he arrived at the isolated cell he had just visited yesterday. Loki still looked the same and Thor didn't know whether to take it as a good or a bad sign.

Loki's eyes were shut, but he had heard him.  
>"I did not expect to see you that soon again."<p>

Thor swallowed knowing what he was about to do, was a high risk.  
>"I want to help you."<br>Loki didn't react at all and Thor could understand him. He stepped so close that his breath was fogging the glass between them.  
>"Please tell me what to do! Let me help you!"<p>

Finally Loki opened his eyes and stood up using the wall as support. Thor hadn't noticed how close to the glass Loki had been sitting and was now caught off-guard by the proximity. The glass and a few centimeters was the only thing dividing them and Thor was so hooked by his brother's mysterious green eyes that he nearly missed his words.  
>"I need my magic back."<p>

Thor had feared this answer.  
>"You know I cannot do that."<p>

"And why is that?"

"You cannot be trusted."

Loki's hand touched the glass and Thor felt the disturbing urge to smash the glass and entwine their fingers.  
>"I hear your friends speaking. You on the other hand fought with your father and the eldest to spare my life. So there must be some part in you that thinks I am worthy of your trust."<p>

Thor was taken aback by the truth in his words.  
>"What are you going to do if I free you?"<p>

Loki blinked to suppress a wave of pain that made him tremble again.  
>"I am going to pay Midgard a visit."<p>

Thor's heart began to beat faster in memory of what had happened the last time.  
>"Why?"<p>

Loki seemed to have read his thoughts, because he rolled his eyes.  
>"Calm down, I will not try to take it over again! But I think my sickness might have something to do with some unfinished business down there."<p>

"I want you to recover, but I am not going to help you escape!"

"Then let me die in here!" screamed Loki, his mask suddenly gone and with hurt visible in his eyes.  
>Thor looked at him in silence, confused why Loki was overreacting. Loki closed his eyes and Thor expected them to become a solid shield again. But to his surprise they still looked vulnerable after he had opened them again.<br>"Thor, if you cannot turn your back on father like that, fine. I will not judge you. But I need to do this, not just for my own sake!"

Thor chuckled humorlessly.  
>"You always do things for your own sake."<p>

Loki's face hardened.  
>"Is that what you think of me?"<p>

"What am I supposed to think?! You took over Asgard and tried to destroy Jotunheim!"

"You lead us in there and caused a war! I was just trying to right our mistake."

Thor didn't want to give up that easily.  
>"And why did you try to take over Midgard?"<p>

Loki took his time with an answer.  
>"That is what I want to find out."<p>

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Look, I know this sounds like a cheap excuse, but I think somebody messed with my head. I wanted to destroy, hurt, kill, inflict pain on others and that is how I acted. I am far away from being innocent, I feel hatred, I feel rage and I feel the thirst for vengeance, but…"

Thor completed his sentence.  
>"…but you are not evil. I know, you are my brother after all."<p>

Loki didn't have to answer. They looked at each other for some more moments and then Thor turned around and left to think about this.


	3. Chapter 3

_New York City, NY, USA, Midgard_

After a few minutes of flying across New York and the Sea, Iron Man smoothly landed on some sort of military ship and released Silver. She was certain he could hear her fast heartbeat while she tried to recall what just happened. Iron Man's suit began to release him while he walked to the only man standing on the deck. He wore a black leather robe and an eye-patch and Silver almost took a step back.  
>"I'm Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D and founder of the Avengers Initiative. Welcome to the crazy stuff, Miss Rakastava."<p>

Silver took his hand and tried to smile.  
>"So, are all of the Avengers on this ship?"<p>

"Unfortunately not. Except for Stark who pays us a visit sometimes, there are just two others here, Black Widow and Hawkeye. You've already met both of them ."

Silver remembered Natasha answering to someone called Nick on her pager and the archer in the helicopter. The same moment both of them stepped in, now wearing casual clothes again. Natasha looked amused.  
>"Silver, this is Clint or how Nick prefers to call him, the Hawk."<br>Clint held out his hand and she reluctantly took it, her gaze following the two figures that were leaving them again.

This had to be a weird dream. She couldn't be standing among the superheroes who had fought for New York a year ago. Tony Stark who still stood beside her, smiled reassuringly.  
>"Don't worry. You'll get used to this."<p>

Silver turned her now even more confused eyes to him.  
>"What are you talking about? I'll go home and never see anyone of you again."<p>

Tony looked at Nick who was the one to answer.  
>"I don't think so. You need to stay here for a bit longer."<p>

"Look, I'm grateful you saved me from that scary creature, but I don't want to have anything to do with this stuff, that's your business."

"This is about your safety and I'm not going to make any compromises with that. You just had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our enemy is supernatural and from outer space, I doubt he will have difficulties to track you down."

Silver's tone got angrier.  
>"Why should he? I'm just an ordinary woman!"<p>

"He chose you and Tony as his first victims."

"But we escaped!"

Nick turned around and walked away.  
>"That's exactly how you hurt a warrior's pride. He will come for the two of you."<p>

While she let the warning sink in, she felt a hand touch her shoulder and looked up to Tony.  
>"I'm sorry about this. But it won't be for long, just until we have sent this alien's ass back to his own world."<p>

She nodded and allowed him to guide her to the navigating bridge.

_Asgard_

The sun began to rise in Asgard, a sight that never failed to fascinate everyone who was watching it. But today no one in the city of Asgard paid the dawn any attention. The place in front of Odin's palace was crowded with people and with every minute passing by, the guards seemed to get more afraid of outbursts.

But then Odin appeared at the balcony of his throne room, wearing the golden armor which was reserved for special events only. Suddenly silence fell upon the place as the people waited for his words.  
>"Citizens of Asgard, you came here today to be witnesses of my judge upon a prisoner who has committed treason at his King by not only trying to take over the reign of Asgard and destroy Jotunheim, but also invading Midgard with hostile intentions. I call up Loki Laufeyson!"<p>

A murmur went through the place as the guards forced the people to build a corridor. From an entrance at the opposite side two well-known figures came into view. Both were very tall, but apart from that, they shared close to none similarities:  
>The left slightly taller person was very muscular, had long blond hair with a three-day beard and unbelievably blue eyes. Apart from his armor which had much in common with the one of his father but being silver rather than gold, he wore a red cape and held Mjölnir in his right hand.<br>The man to his left had always been known for his rather slim statue, but a gasp went through the crowd as they noticed the state he was in. He was visibly thinner than usual; his black hair was even longer than Thor's now and hung in curls into his face. Dark shadows were under his stunning green eyes and his hands were cuffed even though the gag, he had been wearing when he had arrived in this realm, was gone. At least he was back in his old clothes, a black and green leather robe, even if his trademarks, the gold armor and his helmet with the two long horns were missing, as well as his amused smirk.  
>Thor had grabbed him by the arm and was guiding him through the corridor to Odin who was waiting patiently.<br>"Let me do the talking, brother!" whispered Thor without averting his gaze from Odin.

"And I thought they call me the silver-tongued one," sighed Loki with banter in his voice.

Thor's grip around his arm tightened.  
>"This is serious. Today might be your last chance to get father's mercy, so please do not mess this up!"<p>

Loki stopped which forced Thor to look at him, realizing his green eyes had turned cold and Thor felt like he was watching the monster that had tried to destroy Midgard instead of his brother.  
>"I do not seek his mercy, I seek justice."<p>

Thor wanted to argue back, but noticed how nervous the crowd had become because of their sudden halt and not being able to hear what the two gods were talking about. Thor had no choice but to count on Loki seeing reason.  
>"I know you and father have your differences, but please do not make this any worse. If you cannot do this for your own sake, then please do it for me!"<p>

A rush of different emotions clouded Loki's face too fast for Thor to recognize them all, but in the end the ice in his eyes had faded.  
>"Alright, we will do it your way, but only as long as it works."<p>

He didn't wait for an answer, but walked the last few meters to Odin halfway dragging Thor with him. Odin raised his spear Gungnir, so that the beams of the sunlight got reflected in its top. The spot where Loki stood was now sparkling in all colors of the rainbow, causing the people to cry out in surprise. Loki on the other hand remained still and looked up to the Allfather in disinterest.

"Loki Laufeyson, you have committed treason against three of the nine realms by trying to take over their reign. Do you deny that?"

Everyone's attention was aimed at Loki who fought the urge to bow his head in front of the Allfather.  
>"No."<p>

"Do you deny abusing your power to hurt their inhabitants?"

For one moment Loki looked like he wanted to protest, but Thor shot him a warning glare.  
>"No."<p>

The ghost of a smile flickered over Odin's face, before he continued.  
>"I appreciate your cooperation and will keep it in mind when I will pass my sentence. But first my son Thor wants to contribute something to this case."<p>

Finally Thor stepped in front of Loki.  
>"Father, I want you to remember that Loki has been your son for many years and that you and Mother were the ones to raise both of us. You know Loki! He is a trickster, but not a mass murderer."<p>

"What are you implying?"

At the corner of his eye, Thor saw the Warrior's Three and Sif standing next to the guards at his left and it gave him more confidence.  
>"I believe that Loki was not himself during his time on Midgard."<p>

It was dead silent as everyone awaited Odin's reaction.  
>"I admire your courage to defend the crimes of your brother, but –"<p>

"Think about it, Father! Loki never intended to hurt any of our citizens during his reign here, he only wanted to defeat the frost giants of Jotunheim, our arch-enemies. Loki is a frost giant himself, Laufey's son. He could legally rule Jotunheim by now if he wanted to since it is his birth right! But he stayed here in Asgard! Is that not a proof of loyalty?"

Thor felt Loki's amazed eyes burning through him from behind, but he focused on Odin who looked at him in bewilderment.  
>"You want me to acknowledge a son murdering his own father as a sign of loyalty?!"<p>

Before Thor could shoot back, the angry voice of Loki interrupted him:  
>"Stop it, Thor, there is no use in arguing with him. He has already made up his mind."<br>He stepped forward and his eyes turned red. Screams of horror went through the crowd as Loki's skin changed to a glowing blue.  
>"That is how you see me, Allfather, is it not? One of the monsters you crushed centuries ago. The only reason you spared my life and took me to Asgard was to increase your power. Now that I have failed you, you do not see any use for me, so go on, right your mistake and kill me!"<p>

Thor wanted to grab Loki and shake that madness out of him, but he knew it would only make the situation worse. The people were already on the edge upon seeing a frost giant in their midst, so Thor forced himself to stay where he was.

Odin just looked at Loki, his brows narrowed.  
>"You tempt me, Loki. And even if I do not want to do this, I cannot allow my emotions to cloud my judgment."<br>Very slowly he walked down the steps until he was in front of Loki and raised Gungnir.

"Your Majesty," a rich, deep voice interrupted.  
>The three gods and their audience turned their heads in surprise to the tall man suddenly standing in the row of guards. It was Heimdall.<br>"You know my loyalty belongs to you, only to you. And you know I would rather end my own life than dare lying to you."  
>His rarely heard voice lingered in the air until Odin responded.<p>

"Speak your mind, Heimdall."

"I watched Loki from the time you brought him here all those years ago until now. I watched him fall the worst way, but all this time I could see hope for him. And I still do."  
>Even Thor and Loki didn't dare to interrupt Heimdall's and Odin's unspoken discussion while they stared at each other.<p>

A few moments later Odin was the one to break the silence.  
>"I would be a fool to ignore the words of the Bifröst's keeper whose eyes can look through flesh and bone."<br>He looked at Loki again, his spear shining a bit brighter and Loki slowly shifted back into his Asgardian form.  
>"I will give you time to search for the one you believe guilty for your actions on Midgard though it does not change what you tried to bring upon Jotunheim. Since Asgard received no harm during your reign I will drop this charge. We will see about your sentence if you find the guilty person. I will send you to Midgard in a human form, so you can go on your search. You have time until the moon is full again."<p>

Before he was able to leave, Thor stepped at Loki's side again.  
>"Father, we are talking about a very powerful person if he was able to mess with a god's mind. Loki cannot do this as a human stripped of his powers."<p>

"I do not trust him enough to give him his magic back."

Thor took a deep breath and raised his voice.  
>"But you trust me. I wish to accompany my brother on his quest."<p>

Whispering rose amongst the crowd until Odin spoke again, his eyes glaring in disbelief.  
>"I will not allow you to leave with the God of Mischief who will have regained his powers. You are right, I trust you, but I have no false confidence in his loyalty to you. He already betrayed you once."<p>

Thor blinked as he had no words to fight off the truth, but it was Loki who answered in his behalf.

"Then bind me to him!"

Even Odin was silenced by shock. Thor pulled at Loki's arm.  
>"What in Hel's name are you doing?!"<p>

Loki ignored him and added, "If you bind me to Thor, I will die the same moment he does and my magic is of no use if he struggles against me."

Odin didn't answer right away, obviously considering the idea. Thor looked from Loki to his father.  
>"You cannot seriously think about it! Binding spells have not been practiced in many years, because they have been used previously to enslave somebody."<p>

"Silence, my boy!"  
>Odin's voice had risen in volume and Thor obeyed unwillingly. The Allfather looked back at Loki.<br>"Are you sure about this? It would give Thor power over your actions and more importantly your will. Do not take this lightly! Even I cannot turn this back once it has been done."

Loki didn't hesitate.  
>"Do it!"<br>Then he knelt down waiting for the spell.

Something akin to regret flashed over Odin's face, but he raised Gungnir.

Thor desperately tried to argue.  
>"Father, please, do not do this! I am begging you!"<p>

"I am sorry, my son, but this is the only way I will allow you to join him."  
>Suddenly his voice was so loud it filled not only the palace but the whole city.<p>

"_Með allr minn ámáttugr_

_ek kalla upp sjá heimrs fróðleikr_

_við snúa Lokis sál við_ _Thors,_

_vefja þeir válaðar_

_unz inn máni verða full endr._

_Lokis sál vera brotna að inn bil_

_Thor koma Valhalla."_

_(With all my power_

_I call upon the magic of this realm_

_to tie Loki's soul to Thor's,_

_entwining their destinies_

_until the moon becomes full again._

_Loki's soul shall shatter the moment_

_Thor is joining Valhalla.)_

A golden thread emerged from the top of the wand slowly encircling Thor's upper body, then it went through his chest. Thor gasped in surprise, but it didn't hurt, actually quite the opposite. Before he was able to get lost in the warm, comforting feeling, the thread left him and encircled Loki in a faster, more aggressive way, then it disappeared in his chest with light speed. Loki cried out in pain and Thor found that noise utterly disturbing, not remembering Loki ever screaming like that.

Odin lowered his wand and relaxed, so Thor dared to grab his brother's shoulder whispering into his ear with worry.  
>"How are you feeling?"<p>

Loki didn't answer right away, his eyes wide open and unfocused. He blinked to concentrate.  
>"I am fine. I simply did not like the intrusion."<br>But when he stood up, his body trembled slightly and he didn't shrug off Thor's hand on his shoulder, allowing his older brother to lead him out of the palace following Heimdall and Odin who were walking in front of them in silence.  
>Nobody said a word until they reached the shattered end of the Rainbow bridge. Odin swung his wand and a familiar cube which glowed in a pure blue appeared in front of him.<p>

Thor narrowed his eyes in confusion.  
>"You plan to use the Tesseract? But it is too precious and dangerous to stick on Midgard with us. Why do you not use your magic like last time you sent me there?"<p>

"Thor, I might be King of Asgard, but I have not been born with the skills to become a strong sorcerer. It cost me a huge amount of energy to send you to Midgard last time and this time there are two of you. Even if I managed to do it, I would probably fall into the Odinsleep afterwards and with you gone too, it would leave our kingdom in a vulnerable condition."  
>He stepped closer and grabbed Loki's wrist rolling back the tight sleeve a bit, just enough to reveal a black sign that had been burned into Loki's skin.<p>

Though Thor had not much experience with these things, he guessed it must have been the spell Odin had put on Loki to tame his magic. The Allfather mumbled words too quiet for Thor to hear, but Loki's body tensed and the mark faded leaving Loki unstable on his own feet and therefore supported by Thor, but at the same time a relieved smile spread Loki's face at feeling the magic flooding his body again. He didn't hesitate and took the Tesseract on one end twisting its handle until it clicked.

Thor reluctantly let go of his brother who was barely able to stand on his own feet and tried to take the other handle remembering a similar scene after Loki's defeat on Midgard, but with now reversed roles as Loki was the one to look at him waiting insecurely. Just when Thor had gripped the handle, Loki spoke so quietly that only Thor could hear him.  
>"Think about this, Thor! There is no guaranty that we will come back."<p>

Thor met his gaze with serious eyes.  
>"I will not watch you dying without trying to prevent it at least."<p>

Loki's eyes didn't show if he appreciated the sentiment or detested it.  
>"Then it has been decided."<p>

And Thor twisted the handle.

Author's Note:

Please comment, I love having feedback, no matter if positive or negative. :)


	4. Chapter 4

_New York City, NY, USA, Midgard_

Maria Hill blinked in confusion as she stared at a warning that popped up on her computer. She turned around and spotted Nick Fury discussing something with Tony Stark.  
>"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm sure you'd like to see this."<p>

The two men walked closer and came to a halt at both sides of her and looked at the computer, Tony being the first one to ask.  
>"What the hell is going on?"<p>

"I'm not sure, but these changes in the atmosphere also occurred when Thor regained his hammer almost two years ago and also when Loki entered Earth a year later."

Tony looked at her, his eyes caught between confusion and realization.  
>"So you want to say somebody is opening a gate again?"<p>

Nick shook his head.  
>"No, this isn't possible. Thor told us that bloody rainbow bridge of his world is destroyed and the only other thing we know capable of opening a gate way is the Tesseract which left our world with both Thor and Loki."<p>

"Thanos was able to enter Earth without either the Bifröst or the Tesseract. Maybe some of his friends want to join the party."

Nick turned to Maria.  
>"Agent Hill, where did these irregularities take place?"<p>

Maria's fingers darted over the keyboard.  
>"South America, New Mexico...actually quite close to the place, Thor paid us his first visit."<p>

Tony couldn't hold back a little smile.  
>"So our favorite god is back in town?"<p>

Nick still looked at the computer, lost in his thoughts.  
>"Well, I have to agree, this can't be a coincidence."<p>

Tony spun around and walked out of the office.  
>"Then we should give him a ride."<p>

Nick followed him.  
>"Slow down, Stark, you are NOT flying to New Mexico in your suit."<p>

"Why not?"

"Because as much as I hate to say it, but even if it is Thor, there's probably something important and perhaps dangerous going on."

Tony stopped in his tracks and faced him, annoyance visible in his face.  
>"What are you trying to tell me, Nick?"<p>

His famous arrogant grin spread Nick's face.  
>"I want to know why Thor is here, so me and my team are coming with ya."<p>

_Somewhere in New Mexico, Midgard_

After a few minutes of only seeing flashes go by, Loki felt his feet firmly touch the ground. While Thor ungracefully stumbled next to him and tried to regain his balance, Loki blinked several times and took in his surroundings. This place was very different from the one where he had found himself last time he had come to Earth. It was the middle of the day, the sun burning onto the already dry ground. No sign of humans living nearby. For some reason Thor seemed to know where to go and took the lead. Loki noticed anger clouding his face and commented.  
>"We have not been here for more than a minute and you already look like you lost a tournament."<p>

Thor didn't respond to the joke and Loki decided to let it go.  
>After walking in silence for some time Loki was able to see a little town in the distance.<br>"Do not tell me you were searching for this place! How should this help me finding the one who messed with my mind?"

"We are not familiar with this realm and its inhabitants. We will need help."

Loki's lips began to form a knowing smirk.  
>"So we are heading for the woman who changed your life so much that you did not even bother to go seeing her last time you were on Midgard?"<p>

Thor growled in fury and spun around, his hand grabbing Loki by the throat.  
>"I did not want to take the risk of putting her in danger! I did this to protect her!"<p>

"Let us see if she thinks about it your way. I bet her opinion might differ from yours."

"Stop it, Loki!" shouted Thor, his hand tightening around the sensitive skin.

He was surprised that Loki didn't argue back until he noticed how much Loki seemed to struggle internally. Feeling remorse for his outburst, he let go and Loki fell onto his knees, breathing hard but still not satisfied. Thor was able to the frustration in his brother's eyes.  
>"What is it? What is troubling you so much that you let me win a verbal duel?"<p>

"You trouble me!" spat Loki and began to walk away.

Thor was honestly confused.  
>"What do you mean?"<p>

Loki moaned in annoyance.  
>"You told me stop!"<p>

"You never listened to me before."

Loki turned around and his words felt like venom.  
>"Because I have not been bound to you before."<p>

That's when Thor realized what Loki was trying to say.  
>"You mean you were not able to fight back, because I forbade it?"<p>

Loki sighed and the anger faded from his eyes.  
>"Why do you sound so surprised? You were the one to tell the Allfather how this works."<p>

"I thought it was restricted to physical stuff like preventing you from stabbing me in my sleep."  
>Thor was shocked to find Loki bursting out into a humorless giggle.<p>

"If I recall correctly, I already stabbed you while we were fighting on Stark's tower. Yet here you are walking and talking."

"That is one of the things I always wanted to ask you. You had the chance to kill me back then, why did you not do it?"

Loki seemed to consider how much of the truth he should be giving away before answering.  
>"I have seen you fight many battles, Thor. You were not fighting to kill me, so I just returned the gesture."<p>

Thor let his words sink in, not sure what to make of them. Instead of responding he brought his hand to Loki's throat again who commented this with a warning glare. But Thor ignored him and watched the red marks, his fingernails had left. He gently stroked them, feeling Loki shudder under the unfamiliar sensation. Thor returned his eyes to Loki's which had turned a shade darker.  
>"I am truly sorry for forcing my will onto you. I should have not taken the ancient spell's meaning lightly."<p>

To his surprise he felt Loki slightly leaning into his touch, his voice barely audible.  
>"I accept your apology."<p>

For one moment they just remained there as if they were frozen in place and just as Thor felt Loki's rather cold skin warming up under his fingers, Loki blinked and the moment was gone.  
>"We have visitors."<p>

Thor followed Loki's gaze to the side and some seconds later, three black jeeps rounded the hill and came into sight. They stopped in front of the two gods, and the person which first left the car, was familiar to both of them.  
>"Tony Stark?" asked Thor in disbelief.<p>

He was taken aback by the hug that followed and finally Tony took off his black sunglasses.  
>"What? Didn't you recognize me in that suit? I know not so much metal, steel and all that stuff, but that's how we dress for special occasions here."<p>

Thor smiled and squeezed Tony's shoulder.  
>"I see you have not lost your sense of humor."<p>

Tony's eyes turned to the figure next to Thor.  
>"And I see you still didn't get rid of your annoying brother."<p>

Loki didn't comment on the hidden insult, but shot back a cold smile.  
>"What a pleasure to see you again, Stark. I have missed you, too."<p>

Thor prepared himself for stepping in, but noticed that neither of them were seeking out a real fight. It seemed to be more of a teasing banter. Two other figures had entered the scene, both of them dressed in black leather clothes. Thor gave the woman a hug while nodding to the man.  
>"I am glad to see you again, too, Natasha. Nick."<p>

Before she could respond, Loki raised his voice.  
>"How touching to see my brother reuniting with his human friends. But I believe there are still a few missing."<p>

Tony was the one to answer.  
>"We all go our separate ways now. It was just lucky coincidence that I was around while the two of you arrived here. We don't know about Bruce's and Steve's whereabouts."<p>

Nick interrupted him.  
>"Actually we do. But we didn't send them a message, because I didn't see the need for them to show up. We thought it was just you, Thor. Seeing you brought Loki with you changed the situation though. I'm glad, I made the Hawk my deputy, I'm sure it would've got a bit messy if he had seen Loki."<p>

Loki began to laugh coldly.  
>"You mean to tell me, you have given the command of your organization to the one man who betrayed you not so long ago? I admire your faith in him."<p>

Nick's eyes narrowed and his hands turned to fists.  
>"He didn't betray us out of his own will, you forced him to."<p>

Loki looked back at him innocently.  
>"I did not force him to do anything. Actually I was the one to give him peace."<p>

Nick was about to shoot back angrily, but Thor pulled at Loki's arm and whispered into his ear.  
>"Would you please behave, brother? They are my friends. And they might be of help in our search."<p>

Loki rolled his eyes.  
>"Fine, I will stop with the teasing. But do not expect me to be friendly to them. Just like me they have not forgotten that we fought on different sides not too long ago."<p>

Thor decided that this was probably the best, he would get from Loki and nodded in agreement.

When they turned back, Tony asked casually.  
>"So, why are you here? To help us fight that Thanos-dude?"<p>

Thor was about to ask Tony who he was talking about when he sensed Loki stiffening next to him.  
>"Does that name sound familiar to you, brother?"<p>

Loki nodded.  
>"He was the one to send me to Midgard and give me his army."<p>

Everyone stared at him while Thor's voice got louder.  
>"Why did you not tell me that you already know who messed with your mind?"<p>

Loki didn't answer which made Thor even more furious. He grabbed Loki's arm with force.  
>"No more lies! It makes me sick."<p>

Loki released his arm from his brother's grip, shouting back.  
>"I did not lie to you for once! You just never asked for a name, so I did not bother giving you one."<p>

Before they were able to go on arguing, Nick stepped in.  
>"Would both of you please calm down? There are more important things to do. Just answer Tony's question, Thor!"<p>

"We are here to prove that my brother did not attempt to take over Midgard by his own free will."

It was silent as everybody seemed to wait for the joke. When it became clear how serious Thor was, Natasha asked, "You don't seriously believe his lies, do you? He was the one to mess with other people's minds. I hope I don't have to remind you what happened to Clint and Dr. Selvig."

"I assure you, I have not forgotten anything he has done. But we grew up together and I know him better than anyone else. He is not the person we battled, at least not entirely. I understand, no one of you has any reason to trust him, that is why I am asking you to trust me instead."

Once again there was silence as the humans watched Loki warily until the raven-haired sighed petulantly.  
>"Fine, let me put it into different words. We have our own reasons for needing Thanos, but yes, we should do that together."<br>He shot the humans a fake smile.  
>Neither of them seemed too excited about this suggestion, but they knew they would need a bit of supernatural help to have a chance of defeating Thanos.<p>

Finally Nick nodded.  
>"I guess we don't have much of a choice here. But I'll warn you just this one time, if you're trying to pull some trick and hurt anyone, I'll make you pay."<p>

Thor took a step forward and opened his mouth to respond to that threat, but Loki's arm pushed lightly at his chest, holding him back to answer for himself.  
>"Fine."<p>

There was an unsettling tension in the air as nobody seemed to be very happy about this alliance, so Tony tried to lighten the mood.  
>"Great, does anybody want to see our <em>Avengers Tower<em> now?"

Natasha looked surprised.  
>"It is finished already? I thought you hadn't furnished its interior yet."<p>

"Yeah, well I wanted to surprise you with a housewarming party, but we can still make good for it later."

"Okay, then let's go see it. Nick, you should call Clint and tell him, we need him here. And you should contact Steve and Bruce, too."

Nick was already dialing a number and implied with his hands that they should get inside the cars.

_New York City, USA, Midgard_

"I don't trust him, you know that!"  
>Thor just nodded and tried to ignore the anger growing in his chest. Nobody else dared to interfere while Fury and Thor silently fought for dominance. Despite Fury's high position as their superior, there was just a natural aura of respect that surrounded the God of Thunder.<p>

Before the situation could escalate, Tony stepped in, pushing slightly against Thor's armored chest like Loki had done a few hours before.  
>"But he trusts you. That's something to start with."<p>

Thor looked at him in disbelief.  
>"I fought him in your battle to save this city and I was the one to bring him home in chains. Even if he still trusted me back then, he is feeling betrayed now."<p>

Bruce, still in his jacket with his bag slung over his shoulder, smiled at him.  
>"Betrayal can only result from love. And love doesn't fade away."<p>

"So what you are trying to say is, there is still hope that someday he might put his faith in me again?"

The smile that spread Bruce's face slowly mirrored on Thor's and they seemed to share a bonding moment until Fury interrupted again.  
>"Sorry, but I don't believe in the magical power of love! And I sure as hell won't bet the world's fate on it either!"<p>

Before anyone could argue back, Clint asked.  
>"Has anyone seen, Steve? I thought he arrived together with you, Bruce."<p>

Bruce looked around, his eyes roaming over the figures of his friend.  
>"Well, he did. He was right behind me. I thought."<p>

After there was no reaction to his knock, Steve cautiously opened the door to Loki's room. The trickster was lying in the bed, his glance fixed at the ceiling. When he showed no sign of acknowledgement to Steve invading his private room, the latter entered and shut the door behind him.  
>"What are you doing here, Loki?"<br>He did not expect an answer and already turned away to leave, but was surprised when he heard Loki's deep voice.

"I am searching for Thanos just like you."

"That's not what I meant."

Finally the god stood up and looked at him.  
>"You want to know why Thor is with me and why I am joining forces with the likes of you."<p>

Steve nodded and was overwhelmed by the power surrounding Loki as he stepped closer and had now entered his personal space.  
>"I may be proud, but I am not dumb. My time is quite limited. There are only fifteen days left until the next full moon. If I have not found Thanos up to this point, the Allfather will have me executed. As much as I do not like it, it is still my best option to help you if I value my life."<p>

Steve tried to read between the lines.  
>"What made you change your mind?"<p>

"Pardon me?" Loki asked in confusion.

"Thor told us you let go of that spear when you realized your father didn't approve of your actions in Asgard."

"I survived the fall, did I not?" Loki smirked.

"But you didn't know that when you let go. You stopped caring about what would happen."

Steve expected Loki to deny it, but once again he was surprised.  
>"Go on."<p>

"Your family was the only thing you held precious in this world and in the end you failed them all. You couldn't compete with your brother who seemed to do everything right in your parents' eyes. He got all the glory."

A second later Steve was tossed to the wall behind him, a firm hand around his throat and Loki's voice hissing into his ear.  
>"I never wanted the glory, all I ever wanted was their love!"<p>

Desperately Steve tried to breathe, his mind already on its way to unconsciousness. His vision blurred and the moment his body began to feel numb, the hand was gone. He slipped to the ground, coughing and filling his lungs with air and saw Loki thrown to the ground, Thor pinning him down.  
>"What in Hel's name are you doing, brother? Have you lost your mind?"<p>

Steve felt Tony's arm steadying him and watched Clint, Natasha, Fury and Bruce storming into the room.  
>"Wait, it wasn't his fault. We were talking and I struck a nerve. Should have known better."<br>But just as Steve had finished his sentence, a shudder went through Loki's body and his pupils broadened visibly.

"What's the matter now?" asked Fury annoyed, but no one paid him attention.

Everybody stared at Loki as his body tensed and fear clouded his gaze.  
>"What are you doing?...Stop it!"<p>

Thor who was still pinning his shaking brother to the ground, looked at the scientist in the room.  
>"What is wrong with him?"<p>

Bruce shrugged confused.  
>"I have no idea. It looks like a seizure of post-traumatic stress, but he hasn't experienced anything to cause this grave reaction, has he?"<p>

A thought crossed Thor's mind as he remembered Loki telling him about Thanos invading his mind on Midgard. But he had forgotten about Bruce who still waited for an answer and asked again.  
>"Has he?!"<p>

"I do not know for sure. But he-"  
>He was cut off by a whimper from Loki and felt panic rising inside him. His brother was the strongest person he knew. He couldn't recall one time he had heard a sound like this coming from him.<br>"Please, don't do this!"

Thor's heart hammered in his chest and he felt useless while he was forced to watch Loki's reaction to whatever it was that was haunting him. He felt two pairs of arms pulling at his shoulders and allowed them to drag him off his brother. It was Tony and Steve. They didn't seem to be sure whether he would stay this calm, because they didn't loosen their grip while Clint and Bruce knelt down at Loki's sides examining him.

Bruce voice had changed into his serious danger mode.  
>"He's not with us. I can't help him if he's too caught up in this experience. We need something disturbingly to bring him back."<p>

While everyone else was still trying to figure out what that meant, Steve let go of Thor and approached them.  
>"I might have an idea. Pull him up!"<p>

Clint and Bruce obeyed and gripped Loki's arms to pull him up which proofed to be quite difficult since Loki's muscles were still tense. No one knew what to expect from Steve's idea, but they all were caught off guard when he pulled Loki into a tight hug.

Thor watched with an even more confusing mix of surprise and jealousy as Steve wrapped his arms around his brother's back and buried his head in the taller one's neck. Natasha was about to ask what was going on when Loki's body relaxed into the hug and suddenly he blinked. At that Steve tried to pull back, obviously expecting Loki to do the same, but he was trapped in Loki's arms which had come up and made Steve stay in place.

The sting of jealousy grew sharper and Thor wanted to move closer, but Tony gripped his arm tighter and whispered.  
>"Don't!"<br>He looked at the others and nodded to the door. Quietly Clint, Nick, Natasha and Bruce made their exit and Tony found himself alone with that messed-up situation.

Like he had expected Loki seemed to further relax with half the team gone. He inhaled Steve's scent and smiled amused.  
>"You are not afraid, superhuman."<p>

"I have no reason to. You won't kill me right now."

Loki's smile faded as fast as it had appeared.  
>"Do not underestimate me!"<p>

"Expressing feelings doesn't equal weakness, you know that already."

The statement seemed to satisfy the trickster. He allowed himself to enjoy the moment a few more seconds, then he let the human go.

Thor tried to ignore his raging feelings.  
>"Loki, what happened? You scared me."<p>

Loki looked at his brother as if he hadn't noticed him before and avoided eye contact.  
>"I had a vision. I was still in my own body and I was able to hear you, but your voices were muffled as if you were speaking to me through a closed door."<p>

"What do you mean with a vision? Who did you see?"

"Myself and somebody else. I do not remember this happening and it felt too real to be a dream, so I am afraid I just gazed into the future."

Tony was the one to ask the same thing that popped into Steve's and Thor's head.  
>"And guessing from your reaction, it wasn't just rainbows and unicorns."<p>

Loki blinked and Tony remembered too late that Norse Gods were not familiar with this kind of phrases, but thankfully it didn't throw Loki off.  
>"No, I experienced physical pain. Or I was about to until your captain snapped me out of it which I am very grateful for."<p>

Steve tried to hide his amusement.  
>"Was that a <em>Thank you<em>?"

"It's the closest thing to _Thank you _that you will ever get."

Once again that honest smile which he had previously only shown his brother spread his face and Thor had to suppress the urge to smite Steve with Mjölnir. None of this slipped Tony's attention.  
>"Before the two of you are getting too cozy and our Thunder God here is about to start a war, we should get out of here. If you haven't noticed, the ship has stopped and I bet the others are already picking their rooms in my tower."<br>Thor and Loki followed the suggestion while Steve answered, "It's our tower, not yours alone. Its sign reads_Avengers,_ not _Stark_."

"Yeah, but the contract lists my company as the owner and it's been built according to the plans I made so technically, it's MY tower."

"I know you're not a team player, but at least you could try not to behave like a dick."

"Can't handle somebody else in control? Fine with me."

Before they could go on, Loki interrupted them with a knowing smile.  
>"You two are so cute. Should we expect a happy announcement by the end of the week?"<p>

Both of them shot him a killing glare and left without another word.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's notes:_

Sorry for the delay, but I was cut off from the internet since Monday morning.

Now to the chapter:/Loki  
>First of all I nee to apologize again for my lack of knowledge concering Norse mythology. I have made a few things up and if you notice, just take it me exploiting my freedom as the author of this story. :-)<br>And next, I have to warn you: This one won't have much Thor/Loki appeareances, because I wanted to save them for last. You will get what I mean after you have read this chapter. So, don't worry, this is an exception.

_36 hours later  
>approx. 70 miles away<em>

Nick Fury was walking along the line of the Avengers, his voice loud and commanding, "Just to be clear. The world's fate is at stake, so anything personal between you has to wait. Right now, Thanos is the only one we should worry about. A lot of our special trained agents have died in the two days he has been here, so I expect all of you to take this seriously. You will make your way into that cave and kill Thanos, but you won't take any risks unless we grant it, alright?"

Everyone just nodded, then they left the giant plane and entered the dark cave.  
>Subconsciously Steve had taken the lead and Clint, with bow and arrow already in his hands, was at the end. The path ended in a huge room with yellow light balls dancing in the air.<p>

"What are these supposed to be? Lighting for a birthday party?" asked Tony.

It was Loki who answered.  
>"These are portals into the other worlds. Now I understand why he picked this cave as his hiding place. He can jump from one world to another without any effort. He could be anywhere now."<p>

Clint spoke their common thought.  
>"And how are we supposed to find him now?"<br>"He has been here for just two days, so I guess he has not used that many. These portals are caused by magic and I am quite skilled in that. If I concentrate enough I could detect the magic's tracks."

"Which means?"

Now, it was Bruce turn to answer, "It means Loki might be able to find out which paths Thanos has used in his short time here."

Steve nodded in approval.  
>"Sounds good to me. Let's give it a go!"<p>

Loki closed his eyes and Thor could feel his mind reaching out. He might be more of a fighter, but that didn't mean he was as oblivious to the magic around him as humans.  
>Just a second later Loki opened his eyes again.<br>"There are three paths that have been used recently. I will make them visible to your eyes."  
>A sparkle of dark green clouded his eyes for a moment and then they were able to see three broad lines in the air which all lead to a light ball.<p>

Steve immediately took actions.  
>"Alright, we have to split up if we want to catch him. Silver, Tony and Bruce, you will take the portal at my right. Thor and Loki, you'll take the one at my left and Clint and I will take the one in the middle."<p>

Thor noticed the flash of fear that struck his brother for a few seconds and whispered, "What is it? You look like you have seen a ghost."

It took Loki a second too long for his answer.  
>"It is nothing."<p>

He walked to their portal and waited, Thor knowing it was pointless to talk with him if he didn't want to.

"We'll meet here again in twelve hours. Good luck everyone!" shouted Steve.  
>He gripped Clint's arm and allowed himself to fall forward into the portal.<p>

Silver slung her arms around Tony and with an amused smile he walked forward right through the gate with Bruce following close behind.

Loki shook his head.  
>"I am afraid our Iron Man and the green monster will have lost each other by the time they have arrived."<p>

"Because the travel through space is a quite unpleasant ride and they could end up miles away if they do not cling to each other?" guessed Thor.

"Exactly."  
>He took a step closer and dragged Thor into a reluctant hug, his touch very restrained as if he was afraid to burn himself. Loki's sweet powerful scent surrounded Thor and he took a deep breath while they both fell into the portal.<p>

_Nidavellir_

Silver stood up slowly and glanced around. There were rocks everywhere and the sun was burning down. She noticed Tony walking to her and staring into the sky.  
>"Wow, that's quite fascinating."<br>She looked up, too, and saw multiple planets to remind her that they had left Earth behind.

Tony sighed.  
>"Damn it, we have lost Bruce!"<p>

He was right. Their friend was nowhere to be seen.  
>"The sun is going down soon. We need to hurry if we want to find him."<p>

They spent the next two hours searching for their lost friend, but with no result. The sun was halfway gone and the only thing that had changed was the landscape as they were now approaching a mountain chain and leaving the desert behind them.  
>Silver noticed that Tony had become more and more anxious and she wasn't sure if all of this was about Bruce.<br>"Don't worry, I'm sure he's doing fine."

"I know. He told us the Hulk protects him from being killed or even killing himself. It's not him, I'm worried about."  
>For a moment Silver didn't understand, but then he continued.<br>"I was counting on him to help me protect you. If we got attacked now, I wouldn't be able to get into the fight too much, because you'd be in danger."

Silver knew he was right, but his choice of words still hurt and she couldn't help but lash out to him.  
>"I'm sorry I'm such a burden for you. You probably shouldn't have taken me with you if I'm only in your way."<p>

He blinked at her in confusion.  
>"I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I'm not used to being responsible for someone and having to hold back while I'm putting on my suit."<p>

"You mean you're reckless. I know that, you revealed that you are Iron Man despite your popularity. So yes, responsibility isn't your strength."

"Can't really argue with that. I've always been a lone fighter. That probably was the reason why I had such a hard time trying to fit into the team at first."

Silver smirked and corrected him.  
>"Or not trying to fit in. I wonder how the other Avengers were able to keep up with you, you've got an unnerving personality."<p>

Tony chuckled when he thought back to his arguments with Steve.  
>"Yeah, what can I say, we've all got our flaws I guess."<p>

He kept on walking the small path to the first hills, Silver close behind.  
>"Maybe that's what made you succeed. Your humanity."<br>That thought had never occurred to Tony. It had been their mission to save New York and its people, failure had just not been an option, so he had never considered the reason what had made them win. Even now he wasn't exactly sure what humanity really meant even though there had to be some in all of them.  
>Well technically not in all of them.<br>"Don't you think it's quite a stretch to call Thor human?"

He heard Silver laughing behind him and warmth spread in his chest.  
>"Sorry, I forgot you've got a god in your midst. Two for now to be correct."<p>

"I don't really consider both of them to be gods, just supernatural extraterrestrial beings. I can't believe that I'm calling them supernatural, I'm a scientist for Christ's sake."

Her voice was still warm when she asked, "Why should that be a problem? Bruce is a scientist and the Hulk's supernatural, too, don't you think?"

He had thought about that as well.  
>"With the Hulk Bruce has just discovered something we previously didn't know about. But it still follows acceptable scientific rules, we can still tell how it happened. But with these Norse myths and other worlds out there, it's something where I'm expected to just believe rather than have actual proof."<p>

Silver tried to see it from his point of view.  
>"I know what you mean. But I imagine it must be devastating for both of them to see how this world needs proof for everything while in their world magic is the most normal thing."<p>

That reminded him of something.  
>"Thor once said that where he comes from, magic and science are the same."<p>

Silver smiled.  
>"That's what I used to think when I was a kid. Whenever my classmates told me there's no such thing as a dragon, I replied that just because we haven't found out how they could exist in a fairy tale's world and not in this one, it doesn't mean they aren't real."<p>

Tony took her hand to help her through a strong rise of the path.  
>"I can only imagine how beautiful it must be to be able to believe in that. I was always raised to believe in the power of science. And suddenly aliens invade New York and two Norse Gods appear."<br>The moment he ended, the last sunbeam disappeared behind the mountains and suddenly it felt very cold. Tony searched for any sign of a little cave.  
>"We need to find some place safe for the night."<p>

"What about this?" Silver asked and pointed to an indentation under a huge rock. It was indeed the best place he could spot, so he climbed up there and no second too soon: A storm was already rising and although it didn't rain, the wind was strong enough to blow up the dust of the dry ground and create a sandy fog.  
>They sat down next to each other under the rock and Silver found herself wondering aloud.<br>"I hope Bruce is safe. This world is so quiet and up to now we haven't seen any form of life. Something's wrong and I hope we won't find out about it until we're reunited."

Tony nodded.  
>"I hope so too. But the Hulk isn't easy to take down, even Loki couldn't do it. I'm actually more worried where the others have landed. I doubt all the worlds are as abandoned as this one."<p>

For the next hours they sat in silence and while it took Tony a long time to drop off because of the loud storm, Silver had fallen asleep from exhaustion within minutes, her head resting on Tony's shoulder.

_Vanaheim_

Steve awoke to the whispers of people surrounding him. He tried to roll to the side and stand up, but stopped when he felt an unfamiliar weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to find Clint sprawled out on top of him, still unconscious and his head bleeding, probably from the hard landing. Steve felt glad he was the one to land here first since his injuries didn't seem to be that bad due to his super strength. He didn't want to imagine what had happened if Clint didn't have someone to cushion the fall. Then he heard the voices again and looked around. He could see a crowd of people watching him with curiosity and Steve felt relieved he hadn't landed on some monster planet. Although these humans seemed to still live in the Middle Ages with the way their clothes and weapons looked.

A man with long black hair that was held back in a ponytail and an Asian looking face stepped closer.  
>"You are not from this realm."<br>It was a statement rather than a question so Steve didn't feel the need to answer him. The man added.  
>"Are you from Asgard?"<p>

The mention of Thor's and Loki's home surprised Steve.  
>"Do we look like we're Asgardian?"<p>

"No, but there aren't many realms with creatures like you. So where are you from?"

"We're from the Earth, Sir."

The man frowned.  
>"I don't feel a magic as strong as necromancy around you, so can't be undead. Tell me the truth!"<p>

That's when it hit Steve that of course only the humans would be so arrogant as to call their planet Earth and that the inhabitants of the other worlds of course had a different name. But he couldn't remember how Thor had called it, so he wasn't able to answer.

The man drew one of his two swords and pointed it threateningly at Steve's throat.  
>"I am Hogun, leader of this tribe, so do not dare refusing me an honest answer."<p>

Steve remembered that this Hogun seemed to know Asgard and went with his only shot.  
>"I'm from the world Thor went to when he searched for his brother."<p>

Finally realization dawned on Hogun's face.  
>"You are from Midgard? Were you one of Thor's allies in the fight against Loki? "<p>

"Yes, we both were."

Hogun lowered his sword and bowed in front of him.  
>"Then please take my apology. I meant no offence."<p>

"None taken. My name is Steve Rogers or Captain America."

"A captain? So you are the leader of Midgard's defenders?"

Hogun seemed impressed and Steve figured it might be the best to go with that.  
>"You could say that. Midgard has been attacked by the same creature that forced Thor to come and help us last time."<p>

Hogun slung an arm around Clint and lifted him from Steve to help him stand up.  
>"I am confused. Thor left along with Loki just a few days ago. So how can he be attacking Midgard as long as Thor is with him?"<p>

"Thanos, the one who controlled Loki's mind and recently attacked Midgard and now we joined forces with the two gods to protect our world."

Hogun's eyes widened.  
>"So Loki told the truth. Somebody was actually using him."<p>

Steve nodded and looked to the still unconscious Clint.  
>"Can you help him? I think he's hurt pretty badly."<p>

Hogun carefully touched Clint's bleeding head.  
>"We need to patch this up, but it is nothing severe. He is a fighter, that much I can tell. He should awake in a few hours."<p>

Steve nodded relieved, but his thoughts traveled back to their mission.  
>"So you haven't seen an unusual creature in the last days? Loki showed us which portals Thanos used and that's why we ended up here."<p>

"No, we haven't, but this forest is deep, so he could be hiding easily. Why is Loki not with you? He would probably be able to track Thanos' magic down."

"We had to separate since there were three portals Thanos used. Loki is with Thor."

Hogun nodded contently.  
>"Of course he is. That is good."<p>

Steve wasn't sure whether he was meant to comment this or not, so he changed the topic.  
>"So, do you know if we have a chance to find out if Thanos is still in this world or not? Even if it's just a slim one."<p>

For one moment Hogun looked like he wanted to decline, but then a thought came to his mind.  
>"I might know someone who could be able to help you. But first we need to take care of your friend."<br>He winked to his people and a young woman stepped closer with bandages and urbs in her hand. While she began to work on Clint's injury, Hogun told Steve.  
>"I am a close friend of Thor and he has always spoken good about his human friends. I guess that is enough for me to offer you my help should you need me on your quest."<p>

Steve was surprised by the kindness of a man he barely knew.  
>"I appreciate your offer and I might take it. After I have spoken to Clint."<p>

"Clint, that is his name? Is he a captain too or just part of your team?"

Steve smiled.  
>"He's part of the team and his nickname is Hawkeye."<p>

"This is a very fitting name, worthy of a strong warrior. He will be back on his feet in no time. But for now both of you need to rest. You can search for Thanos in the morning."

Steve had to admit he hadn't much of a choice here and followed Hogun in the direction where the closest village was possibly located.

_Nidavellir_

When Bruce awoke in a hole in the ground and found himself to be half naked, he was scared. Not because the Hulk had obviously come to the surface, but there was no sign of Tony and Silver. Had he hurt them? Or had they been separated? The last memory which didn't seem kind of blurred was the three of them falling or rather flying down (or up?) with extreme speed. They had been caught up in a pillar of rainbow-colored light and Bruce immediately had thought of Thor's story about the Bifröst and his description as a giant rainbow bridge. It was quite fitting actually. The last thing he could remember was losing sight of his two friends and his body slowing down and then a pain when he must have hit the ground hard. Then the Hulk obviously had taken over while he had been knocked out to prevent him from dying.  
>His thoughts were interrupted by a strange voice.<br>"You seem to be lost."

Bruce spun around, but couldn't make out anyone and it made his heart beat faster which was dangerous.

The voice talked again.  
>"I have no interest in all the weak humans you surround yourself with. The archer and the assassin are ordinary and have no special powers, why do you even waste your time with them? The man with the shield is extraordinary strong, I have watched him while you were asleep. So I can at least begin to understand why you stick with him. And the ones who came with you? Take away the man's iron suit and what is he? Just another worthless human like that woman who is with him. Which brings us to the only ones left. The two gods."<p>

Bruce was now nearly as annoyed as the Hulk, both of them offended by the insults to their friends.  
>"What do you want? And who are you anyway?"<p>

"Oh, I think you know exactly who I am. What do I want? I want you to find the only friend of yours who is capable of becoming a threat to my plans. And I want to punish the other one just like you do."

"I may not be on best terms with Loki, but as long as Thor trusts him I will do the same."

A cold laughter filled the air.  
>"I expected that. But tell me, how will you be able to trust Thor when he won't be able to trust himself?"<p>

"What is that supposed to mean? Don't you dare going after Thor!"

"Do not worry, I will not. But you will."

And then a Bruce saw a shadow appearing beside him and its hand touched his skull. A moment later he felt a sharp pain at his temple as the Hulk took over.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's_ _notes_:

_I'm sorry it took me so long to update! _  
><em>I had some tests and after watching the broadcast of "Coriolanus", I was barely functioning for the following days, not to mention being able to write, because it was so great and I needed to recover from the Tompocalypse. :-)<em>  
><em>Good news is, I've finished the story, so now I'm able to update regularly. <em>  
><em>The notes for this chapter are at the end, because I want you to read it first. You'll see why...<em>

_Svartalfheim_

Both Thor and Loki landed with their feet on the ground although Thor's body shook slightly since the Bifröst to which he was used to, was a bit more gentle with transporting someone to another world.

Loki on the other hand didn't seem to mind and while Thor struggled to regain his balance, Loki paced around in circles.  
>"Something's wrong. There's dark magic everywhere, I can feel it in my bones."<p>

"We have just left Midgard, maybe you are not used to magic surrounding us anymore."

Loki shot him a killing glare.  
>"We are in Svartalfheim, a realm that has a very small population since your grandfather Bor has wiped out the Dark Elves 8000 years ago. The only magic that should be here is the one which is natural to the planet or the one which marks the cruel deeds that have been done all this time ago."<p>

Thor had to admit that even he had a bad feeling about all of this.  
>"Do you think Thanos could cause this amount of dark magic?"<p>

"Most certainly. We should follow its strains to the source."

"No, we should wait until the concerted twelve hours are over and take the others with us."

Loki finally met his gaze and there was an unreadable expression in it.  
>"Well, good luck with that. Look up!"<p>

Thor obeyed and for a moment he didn't understand, but then he noticed:  
>"The portal. It is gone."<p>

"Brilliant deduction, brother. It looks like we are truly on our own."

He said this with a stony look on his face and Thor once again wondered what was wrong with him.  
>"We could call for Heimdall to take us up to Asgard and from there we could get back to Midgard."<p>

"I thought about that, too, but sadly even Heimdall's all-seeing eyes cannot look through the veil the dark magic has created in this realm."

Thor couldn't argue with that, they had to take on Thanos alone. On the one hand he was glad to keep his human and more vulnerable friends out of trouble, but on the other hand their backup would have made it easier to look out for Loki and keep him safe. He followed his brother who was already approaching a wall of stones that looked like an ancient ruin.  
>"Is that his hiding place?"<p>

"No, but the magic is focused in there and it is getting stronger with every second."

"How is that possible?"

"I am not sure, but you should better have Mjölnir at hand."  
>Thor nodded and his hand wandered to her hilt while Loki pulled out his daggers. Carefully they entered the ruin and were able to see an immense ball of purple light that seemed to pulse like a beating heart.<p>

"Watch out!" Loki shouted and pushed Thor to the side with his body. No moment too soon: The portal erupted and the force pinned Thor to the ground and threw Loki off of him like a doll.

When the blinding light finally faded, Thor couldn't believe what he saw. The Hulk was standing in front of him.  
>"Bruce?"<br>The only reaction he got was a blow that sent him flying through two walls. The Hulk followed him and Thor felt Mjölnir vibrating at his belt in anticipation.  
>"Bruce, I know you can hear me. Stop this or I am forced to hurt you."<br>The Hulk just growled and took another swing at him, but Thor blocked it with Mjölnir before whirling her in order to attack. Then he heard Loki's voice from behind the Hulk.

"I've got an idea. Distract him a few moments longer."

That was apparently what Mjölnir wanted to hear, because she was sending out little light flashes already and Thor had to struggle to channel her power as he jumped forward to smite the Hulk's chest. Of course he knew that this wouldn't harm the creature enough to stop, but it burnt through the resistant green skin and sent the Hulk stumbling backwards. Something with a color between dark green and black trickled out of the wound and the liquid streamed down the hammer and Thor's hand.  
>It felt strange and Thor was glad to hear Loki shouting.<br>"I am ready."

And suddenly strong arms grabbed him and he felt a familiar slender body pulling him behind a corner just in time as the hole began to suck everything nearby into it. Within seconds bricks and walls got swallowed by it just like the Hulk until the portal shrank rapidly and finally disappeared.  
>"No need to worry about your friend, I just sent him back to the realm where he came from. We can deal with him later."<p>

But Thor didn't care, not about Loki's words and especially not about Bruce Banner. All he cared about was Loki's arm wrapped firmly around his waist, Loki's body not as warm as Thor had expected. Not a big surprise if he thought about it, his brother was a Frost Giant after all. His own tanned fingers entangled with Loki's white ones and his thumb stroked over the sensitive skin of his artery.

"Thor, what in Hel's name are you doing?"

"I have no idea."

~0~

Loki closed his eyes at the intimate touch feeling a shiver running down his spine. For a moment he allowed himself to revel in it, but then his senses alarmed him when he felt a knot of the same dark magic that had surrounded the portal as well as the Hulk.  
>But this time it surrounded his brother.<br>"Thor, stop it!"  
>He tried to push Thor back, but the latter's eyes turned dark and Loki wasn't sure whether it was because of the magic taking over or lust clouding his senses.<br>"Stop it!" Loki pleaded and tried to avoid the horror of a flashback to his vision of yesterday. His mother had always told him how the future wasn't carved in stone and how destiny could be changed with enough willpower and compassion. She had always said that to him whenever he had watched Thor join his father at feasts as the crown prince.

Thor's too low voice brought him back from his spinning mind.  
>"I have waited so long for this."<br>He tightened his grip on Loki's wrist and spun his little brother around so that they were now facing each other. Thor buried his nose in the croon of Loki's neck and inhaled his scent. Loki tried to break away, but he had never been able to win a physical fight against Thor, so he lashed out mentally with his magic, but for some reason it didn't work. And that scared him to no end. He tried to concentrate, but couldn't reach his magic although he could feel it was there. It was trapped behind a barrier in his head which hadn't been there previously and the harder he tried to break through, the thicker it seemed to get. He felt blood trickling out of his nose and tears welling up his eyes and when Thor began to bite his neck, he pleaded again.  
>"Please, I'm begging you, stop it!"<p>

"Why would I do that?" Thor asked and ripped the armor and leather of Loki's body, his hands wandering down the exposed skin. Despite his panic Loki felt his body responding and a whimper escaped him. Thor smiled.  
>"I know you want me. I have always been your greatest weakness, your doom."<p>

He leaned forward and crushed his lips onto Loki's who gasped in surprise. Thor used that to slip his tongue into his brother's mouth and arousal flooded both of their bodies. When Loki felt heat radiating off himself, he tried to push Thor back again, but the latter pressed their bodies against the wall behind him, his leg rubbing against his brother's inner thigh.

"I have wanted to do this for too long."

He bit Loki's neck violently, drawing something between a moan and a cry of pain from him. Thor threw his brother to the ground with all his force and while the latter adjusted, he got rid of his own clothes. Although Loki knew it was no use, he tried to break the barrier in his head again while trying to land a blow against Thor.  
>But the blond caught his wrists in his hands and forced him back to the ground to pin Loki's body down with his own. Loki felt both of their erections rubbing against one another and moaned in pleasure. His body had already given up the fight and Loki panicked when it finally dawned him what was about to happen.<br>"Please, brother, we both know someone is messing with your head. You are better than this."

Thor stopped his ministrations and looked at Loki, his face just a few inches away and his nearly black eyes all Loki could see.  
>"No, I am not. I have wanted this longer than I have known it myself."<p>

And with a grin he pushed into Loki. The latter cried out at the sudden intrusion and his muscles tightened in reflex around Thor's cock, trying to deny him more entrance. Which was the worst his body could have done, because when Thor pulled out and pushed in again - this time with more force - it felt as if Loki's body got ripped apart from the inside.  
>Every thrust made Thor slip in deeper and Loki felt warm blood trickling down his ass and he was grateful when he sensed his body going numb from the amount of pain. When Thor leaned down and crushed their lips together again, he opened his mouth to give Thor better access.<br>With the following thrust Thor hit his prostate and Loki screamed in agony, his body arching up against Thor's and lust clouding his senses.  
>Loki didn't even take note what his body was doing: He spread his legs and clung them around Thor's to take him even further in. When his mind registered that his body was answering and obviously approving of Thor's actions, he tried to fight it again, but Thor's thrusts had become so fast and deep that he couldn't do more than scream as his brother managed to hit his prostate every time.<br>Then he heard Thor shouting out in lust and at the same time his own vision went white. He could still feel Thor coming inside of him, his load filling him while his own come had already slicked their stomachs. When Thor had spilled all he got inside of Loki, he collapsed onto him and they stayed like that for several minutes, Thor because of exhaustion and Loki because of shock.

Finally Thor pulled out and rolled off Loki who felt an unfamiliar emptiness as he watched Thor dressing himself again. The cold air of the night had already dried the come on his stomach and the blood between his legs when the shock faded and Loki was finally able to move.  
>Slowly he stood up and winced at the pain in his lower body, trying to fight back the memories. There was a pained groan from the side and when he turned, he could see Thor falling to the ground, apparently unconscious eben though Loki didn't know why. After putting his torn clothes on again, Loki managed to reach the wall at the opposite and then he broke down and cried silently as everything that had happened, came back to him.<p>

_Vanaheim_

Cautiously Steve followed Hogun through the forest, looking back to Clint from time to time. His friend had woken up and refused to be carried, amusing Steve with his intractability. The Vanir had put some bandages on the still bleeding wound and were now eyeing their patient, obviously concerned he would pass out again from the blood loss.

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you!" he snapped, causing Steve to chuckle lightly.

"Please excuse his behavior, usually he's not like that."

Hogun didn't seem to mind but continued to lead them through the forest.  
>"Do not worry about us, we understand him. He is a warrior and does not like to be taken care of, many Vanir would react the same way."<p>

A village came in sight, the playing children already running towards them to welcome their homecoming fathers. Most of them didn't even notice Clint and Steve, but the women eyed them suspiciously and Steve couldn't blame them, the Vanir were a more belligerent people than the humans after all.  
>The group of warriors dispersed now as all of them greeted their families, Hogun the only one left with Steve whose eyes were on Clint who was led another way.<p>

"Our healer will take care of your friend, he will be better by the morning. You need to rest, too."

"I'm not tired," argued Steve, feeling useless.

"I know, but you might need your strength tomorrow. Especially now that your friend is hurt and cannot back you up."

He nodded, then remembered the Avengers were supposed to meet up in the morning.  
>"We need to get back to Earth within nine hours, otherwise our friends will get worried. If they find a way to get back. It didn't occur to me that the gates might close behind us."<p>

Hogun patted him on the shoulder.  
>"Once Heimdall has taken you up, he can search for the others, too. His eyes see everything, so this should be easy. Now rest, Captain."<br>And he gently pushed Steve to one of the houses and the human obeyed.

~0~

Tony blinked confused, wondering how long he had slept. Silver's head was still on his shoulder and she was peacefully sleeping. Rubbing his eyes Tony frowned as he heard what had woken him up, a tearing sound and then just across the open ground a vortex appeared out of nowhere.  
>Staring at it in disbelief he shook Silver's arm and she groaned as she woke up.<br>"Silver, look! A portal is opening."

After a moment she was finally able to comprehend.  
>"But why? We didn't do anything, so somebody else must have created it."<p>

"That or nature is trying to balance things out."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"All those portals Thanos has created are unnaturally, you could say forced. Think of it as an airstream. If somebody opens the door, then it also needs to get out somewhere else, it doesn't just stay in the room."

Silver nodded, "So you think we should take our chance and go through it?"

"Well, it can't exactly get worse. Maybe it will stay open this time, so we can use it to get back if we don't like the place where we end up."

"Or it closes behind us and we're stuck again," she pointed out.

Tony had to admit she was right, but pulled at her hand nevertheless.  
>"I know, but we don't have much of a choice here. There's not much time left until we're supposed to be back again and this is our only way to get out."<p>

Sighing Silver allowed him to drag her along and after a few minutes they had reached the vortex and after taking a deep breath, they stepped through it. They had to cling to each other not to get separated and their ride took longer this time until Tony was afraid they were stuck in time-space-loop like in a cheesy science fiction movie.

But then they hit the ground hard and their legs gave out, causing them to stumble into the dust. Trying to recognize anything about this new world, Tony looked around and pulled Silver up with him, cursing as he realized the gate had vanished again. They were in some kind of a ruin, but apart from that there was nothing significant about this place.  
>At least until he could see the weak morning sun illuminating two well-known figures - Thor unconscious on the ground and Loki sitting in front of a wall a few meters away. Both he and Silver approached them, relieved they seemed to be alright.<br>He walked over to Loki who was sitting a few meters away with his arms wrapped around his knees, his chin resting on top of them. Tony reached out to touch his arms, but with panic visible in his eyes Loki slapped his hand away.

"Do not touch me!"

Tony shot Silver a confused glare, then he asked.  
>"What happened after we separated to make you this prickly?"<p>

"Nothing happened," Loki whispered, not managing to make it sound believable.

Silver walked closer until she reached Tony's side.  
>"Oh please! Thor is unconscious and you look like you've seen a ghost."<p>

That phrase rang a bell in Tony's memory.  
>"The only other time we saw you like this was after your vision. Did it happen? Or more importantly what happened exactly, you never told us about it?"<br>Loki stood up, trying his best not to grimace at the aching pain in his lower body.  
>"I do not wish to talk about it."<br>He walked a few steps away when he felt new blood trickling down his long legs, but stopped dead in his tracks when his senses caught up on a well-known mind awakening..

"Thor? Are you alright?" Silver yelled worriedly.

"My head hurts and my body feels a bit strange, but I think I am fine."

Tony looked from him to Loki and back again.  
>"Then could you please tell us what happened while you were on your own? Your brother refuses to cooperate."<p>

Loki's heart beat faster as he waited for Thor's answer.

"I do not know. I remember the Hulk attacking us, then everything is black."

Loki tried to hide his surprise and wondered if Thor was telling the truth and could really not remember or if he was just lying. On the other hand he knew Thor for so long now to be sure he was anything but a liar.

Tony and Silver stared at each other helplessly until Silver suggested.  
>"We should search for another gate to get back to the others. Let's go!"<p>

~0~

Tony wasn't sure if he was utterly worried or terrified of the unnerving tension in the air. Loki kept his distance from Thor and preferred to walk at Tony's side. At the moment Thor was too confused by his memory loss to notice that yet.

Silver interrupted his thoughts.  
>"So the last thing you remember is the Hulk attacking you?"<p>

Thor rubbed his temples trying to concentrate.  
>"I fought against him and managed to wound him. Next thing I know is waking up with the two of you standing over me."<p>

"Anything to add, Loki?"

The trickster nodded.  
>"I performed a spell to send the Hulk back to where he came from. Thor was unconscious, but I could not detect any major injuries, so I figured he was just worn out from the fight and it would be the best for both of us to get some sleep."<p>

There was something about his tone that made Tony doubt his honesty while Thor and Silver seemed satisfied with that logical answer. He let himself fall behind and Loki seemed to catch the meaning of this as he did the same.  
>When Thor and Silver, both still discussing the former's blackout, were several meters ahead, Tony asked.<br>"So, what are you not telling us?"

"I told you everything I know."

Impatiently Tony grabbed the god's arm and spun them around, forcing him to come to halt.  
>"Stop shitting me! Something happened that caused Thor to lose his memory of last night and you to act like a frightened cat."<p>

Loki didn't answer and Tony realized the god was shaking uncontrollably, his breath too fast and his pupils too wide.  
>"Loki, what's wrong?"<p>

But either Loki didn't hear him or he didn't want to answer. He seemed to suffer a panic attack and Tony struggled to keep him in place unsure whether to let go or grip him tighter.

Then Thor and Silver were at his sides and the Asgardian asked, "What did you do?"

"I have no idea."

"Does he have a vision again?" Silver asked and Tony remembered what Steve had done to calm Loki down, so he forced Loki's arms apart and brought their bodies together in a hug.  
>The moment their fronts touched, a blast of green light erupted from Loki and Tony, Thor and Silver got tossed away. Tony was glad about the sand of the dunes that cushioned their landings as they sat up.<p>

Loki seemed more surprised than all of them together and he murmured to himself.  
>"Why did it work this time?"<p>

Thor was the first to tramp back to him.  
>"What did you do that for? We were just trying to snap you out of your vision."<p>

He stopped right in front of his brother and Tony didn't miss the flash of panic in Loki's eyes, something he had never seen in them when Thor was around and Tony had the feeling it was another important piece of that mysterious puzzle they needed to solve.

Obviously Thor hadn't missed the expression in his brother's eyes too, because he brought his hand to Loki's cheek and stroked it, watching the reaction. To both Tony's and Thor's confusion the panic intensified with the touch until Loki closed his eyes and to their surprise rejected it by pulling away and rounding Thor.  
>Now it was the god of thunder's turn to look horrified and pity rose inside of Tony. It had always been obvious how close the siblings' relationship was and Thor was the only one who could have brought Loki back into the light. But something had changed between them last night and made Loki lose his trust in his older brother.<p>

Silver seemed to have come to the same conclusion.  
>"Thor, are you sure you can't recall anything from last night, because Loki obviously can and it doesn't seem to be something good. Last thing we need is for him to rip out your throat."<p>

Thor stared at the back of his departing brother, confusion turning into determination.  
>"I need to talk to my brother in private."<p>

Silver tried to argue.  
>"I don't think that's a good idea right now. He seems to be afraid of you and you could-"<p>

"I did not ask!"

Seeking for assistance, Silver looked at Tony who knew there was no sense in arguing with the god, but before leaving he stated, "Just to be clear, be gentle with him! If you scare him off even more, he might go on the rampage and I don't want to hurt him further."

"I would never hurt Loki!"

"Are you sure? Because according to his behavior you already have."  
>Without waiting for a response Tony took Silver's hand and walked away.<p>

After a few moments Thor turned around and followed Loki who was standing at a dune, eyeing him carefully.  
>"Brother, what have I done to deserve this look in your eyes?"<p>

"You are not my brother."

Thor sighed.  
>"Is this about your parentage again? I already told you that it does not matter to me, we were-"<p>

"I was not talking about our nonexistent blood bond."

Now Thor was even more confused than before.  
>"Then what are you talking about?"<p>

"Do you really not remember?"

"I wish I did, so I knew what is going on with you."

Loki finally looked up into Thor's eyes and the sadness in Loki's was more disturbing than his words or actions. Then Loki broke the contact and left him, whispering, "Even if I believed you, it would not change anything."

Thor rolled the conversation around in his head and stuck with the only thing that at least partly made sense.  
>"Why are you saying I am not your brother?"<p>

Loki stopped, but didn't turn around.  
>"Because if you were, you would have not hurt me like you did last night."<br>And with that he vanished.

Thor stared at the spot where Loki had been standing just seconds ago, desperately trying to remember anything from last night. He would never hurt Loki, that's what he had just said to Tony, but apparently the human had been right and he had done so.

_Author's notes:_

_Before you are throwing rocks at me, I'm sorry I had to do this to Loki (although I don't regret writing it).  
>It was the very first scene I wrote for this story and I didn't have to change very much which surprised me a bit. Anyway I hope I didn't screw it up for you and you were able to tell from my writing style that it was not really Thor who did this. And now you can chop my head off. ;-)<br>*ducks away*_


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's note:  
><em>  
><em>Thank you for your continued support, it means the world to me!<em>

_-0-0-0-_

Invisible to anyone's eyes, Loki watched his brother thinking about their conversation and he wondered if he could believe him. If he looked into Thor's eyes now, he could only see that bright blue of his big brother he had known a thousand years and not the consuming black of the monster from last night. He wanted so desperately to believe him, but he just couldn't forget and the only thing keeping him from a breakdown was the denial of what had happened.

That night he had lost two important things: Firstly his trust that his brother would never hurt him and secondly his trust that he always had his magic to back him up. Even if Thor had been possessed by something, no one could have blocked his own magic from the outside. And from the inside? Well, it had been quite some time since somebody had invaded his mind, so there was no reason to assume…then he remembered the Chitauri's words:

_"If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he cannot find you."_

Thanos wanted revenge for his failure on Midgard, so maybe he had decided the time was right and used a link to Loki's mind he had not known about. Maybe he had also possessed Thor? His memories had stopped the moment he had wounded the Hulk – and came in contact with that strange black liquid.  
>That must have been the moment he got infected. Passing on diseases through liquids, it was so old fashioned that Loki wondered why he hadn't thought of it earlier. If he was right, it would explain why the Hulk had appeared to fight them. Thanos must have taken him over, too, and used him as a carrier of the disease.<p>

Immediately he let the magic around him contract and made himself visible.  
>"I think I have found the answer to some of our questions."<p>

Thor turned around, but didn't dare to interrupt as Loki concentrated and sent out a call to the others.

_I need all of you to search for a way to get back to Midgard. Thanos has managed to take over the Hulk, so you better stay away from him. He has also infected Thor and me, but we are okay for now. We won't go to the meeting point with you in case Thanos manages to possess us and puts all of you at risk. The rest of you need to gather and wait until you hear from us. _

Loki's eyes snapped open and he took a deep breath to fight the upcoming headache.

Thor noticed how worn out he looked.  
>"You need to rest before we can search for Thanos. You look too tired for such a battle."<p>

"I agree," came a voice from behind and they saw Tony and Silver approaching.  
>"And what kind of enlightenment did you have, Loki? You realize you just stole Steve's position as team leader by ordering all of us around."<p>

"We need to split up."

"Yeah, I got that much, but why? We are stronger as a team."

"Thanos knows that, too. So he will expect all of us to fight him and can set up a trap."

Tony knew he was right, but he still didn't like Loki's plan.  
>"So you want to face him with your brother only while we are sitting at home and play video games? Sorry, man, but that's not gonna happen!"<p>

Loki stepped closer to him and Tony could have sworn it was understanding that flashed through the trickster's eyes before they turned cold.  
>"And who is going to stop me? You?"<br>His eyes glew in a bright green and Tony felt something pulling him backwards.

Silver was the one who first realized what was going on as she was pulled back, too.  
>"Wait, Loki, we need to talk about this. If you take Thanos on alone, you will die!"<p>

Loki's cruel smile didn't reach his eyes.  
>"Then so be it!"<p>

That moment everything around Tony and Silver vanished as a pillar of colors came down from the sky and swallowed them. This time their ride to another world was a lot smoother and both of them landed with their feet firmly on the ground. A big man in a golden armor was standing in front of them and Silver's mouth snapped open when she saw that his golden eyes mirrored the universe.  
>"Welcome to Asgard. My name is Heimdall."<p>

She smiled hesitantly.  
>"I figured. I've read about you in the legends."<p>

He nodded and continued.  
>"I have seen the imprint of Loki's magic, so I am surprised to find the two of you instead of him."<p>

Tony answered on her behalf.  
>"We are friends of-"<p>

"I know exactly who you are, Tony Stark."

Tony raised his eyebrows.  
>"I didn't know I'm also this famous in all other worlds."<p>

But instead of Heimdall who continued to observe him in something akin to disinterest, it was Silver who responded.

"Obviously you're not, but he knows because he has to."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"His eyes can see everything that's happening in all worlds, because as the keeper of the Bifröst he has to know everything."

That eventually rang some bells in Tony's head.  
>"Wait, the Bifröst? What's there to keep, Thor said he destroyed it when he prevented Loki from erasing Jotunheim."<p>

Silver shot him a warning glare and looked at Heimdall in worry, but the god had overheard the hidden insult.

"Have you seen Thor? The last time I was able to see him, he and Loki took a gate to another realm yesterday."

Tony nodded, "Yeah, he is with Loki."

Heimdall closed his eyes in relief.  
>"That is good. They had me worried about their well-being."<p>

"Why?"

Heimdall looked at him again and Tony felt like watching the stars through a telescope.  
>"Because I heard Loki screaming."<p>

Silver frowned.  
>"I know you can see everything that's going on, but I didn't know about the hearing."<p>

"It is not like that. Loki is a creature of magic and he can speak through it although he usually does not use this kind of communication, because it is too conspicuous. Last night I could hear him screaming like I have never heard him do before. Every magical creature in the nine realms must have noticed it, it was terrifying."

Tony and Silver looked at each other, the same thought crossing them. It was Silver who spoke it out loud.  
>"Thor doesn't remember anything from last night and Loki refused to talk about it."<p>

"Whatever was happening to them, it must have been terrible," speculated Heimdall.

Tony felt even worse now.  
>"Loki was behaving strange when we met them, I thought he had got into a fight with Thor and they had fallen out. But the way you say it, it sounds much more severe."<p>

"Most likely it is, considering it might have affected their relationship."

"What do you mean?" asked Silver, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"I have watched them since they were babies, but at no time I would have been able to foresee how strong their bond would become. Even with everything Loki had done, Thor still loved him. It is the reason why they are so strong together, even when they are on different sides. If something has disturbed their relationship and made them lose trust in each other, they are a lot more vulnerable to the schemes of their enemies."

And that last sentence brought all pieces of the puzzle in Tony's mind together.  
>"Their enemies?...Thanos."<p>

"It seems the most likely possibility, but how could he have hurt Loki that much and erased Thor's memory? It's not as easy as it sounds like," responded Silver in confusion.

"Of course it is, think about it! We knew he's powerful since he controlled Loki's mind, but what if he has controlled some of us too?"

"Unlike Loki we didn't have any direct contact with him."

"Are you sure? Because Bruce was the only one on his own and suddenly he attacks Thor? The same Bruce who has mastered the principle of calmness over the last years to build up something like a normal life? And after he attacks Thor, our Thunder God goes all amnesia for a whole night and our God of Mischief has turned into a frightened kitten?"

Silver had to admit, it was a brilliant deduction, but she would never say that out loud.  
>"But why would he do that? It's not like it will help him get any relevant information."<p>

"No, but it allows him to destroy us from the inside."

"So if we go after him together, he could make us, I don't know, attack each other?"

That thought scared Tony, but it was true nonetheless.  
>"Probably. It would explain why Loki sent us away and told everyone to wait."<p>

Silver nodded, but had to voice the one thing she still couldn't understand.  
>"Then why did he let Thor go with him?"<p>

For a moment there was silence as they tried to think of a reason until Heimdall joined the conversation again.  
>"Maybe he has no intention of doing that. He cannot force Thor to leave him like he did with the two of you, but he still is a trickster, so he could just wait for the right opportunity to get rid of him."<p>

Slowly Tony let his gaze wander over all the visible planets out there, all the possibilities where the other avengers could be.  
>"I hope that opportunity doesn't come too soon. Thor and Loki need to work their things out before the battle for the worlds starts."<p>

~0~

Impatiently Loki paced around, his eyes closed and seemingly searching for something.

Thor tried to understand what was going on.  
>"What are you doing, brother? You need to rest, your condition is getting worse with each passing minute."<p>

"I know, but first I need to find a hidden path into another realm. I bet the Hulk knew where to find us, because Thanos does know. I will get some rest when we are somewhere safe."

It was both logical and true, so Thor couldn't really argue, but he still didn't like it, Loki looked way too ill to let it be okay. As he watched his brother, he couldn't help but wonder if at least some part of his exhaustion was his fault, considering Loki's behavior around him.  
>"Loki, what did I do last night? I need to know."<p>

The god stopped dead in his tracks, his face a mask and distance in his eyes.

"You did not do anything, you were not yourself."

"Just because I cannot remember what happened, does not mean I have not been myself. Whatever I did to deserve your distrust, I want to say I am truly sorry."

Loki swallowed hard and finally his features softened.  
>"It was not your fault, so there is nothing for me to forgive. But I am not ready to talk about it, okay?"<p>

It was a rare moment for Loki to let anyone see his vulnerable side and Thor wanted nothing more than to rock his brother in his arms, but he didn't dare to.  
>"Okay. But please know I would never hurt you of my own volition."<p>

This time Loki's smile was honest.  
>"I already know that. Why else would I still be able to be near you?"<p>

Thor stepped closer to him and had to fight hard to ignore the need to touch him like he was used to. He didn't want to turn Loki away again.  
>"But you are still afraid of me."<p>

"I am afraid of Thanos taking you over again."

That made Thor startle.  
>"Thanos was the one to take over my mind and erase my memory?"<p>

"Yes, probably to punish me for my failure on Midgard."

Now the alarm bells in Thor's head rang even louder.  
>"Loki, what did he do to you?"<p>

When he got no answer, he grabbed Loki's arm to hold him in place.  
>"Tell me!"<p>

But Loki's body began to shake violently and he closed his eyes in pain. Immediately Thor let go of his arm, but it was no use. Blood was beginning to trickle out of Loki's nose when Thor remembered: The binding spell which forced Loki to obey each of Thor's commands.  
>"Alright, Loki, stop it, do not tell me, I do not want to know!"<p>

Loki's body relaxed and Thor caught him in his arms before he could fall to the ground. When Loki trembled again, this time in fear, Thor waited for his brother to push him away, but to his surprise he let himself be held.  
>"So, where do we go now?" asked Thor to distract himself from their proximity.<p>

"We need to find a hidden path to get rid of Thanos, then we can devise a plan."

Thor nodded when a thought came to his mind.  
>"What if Thanos is able to spy on us by using his mind control over me?"<p>

Loki considered that for a moment.  
>"It is conceivable, but unlike me, you did not have any direct contact with him and he used a carrier to get into your head. So there might be a possibility for me to cast him out of you if I can destroy whatever entered you through that carrier."<p>

"You think this could work?"

"It has to. But it will be painful for the both of us."  
>Carefully he placed his hands on each shoulder of Thor, his thumbs coming up to the veins of his throat and feeling the life bumping through it. Then he closed his eyes and opened his mind for every trace of magic around him.<p>

With Loki's eyes shut and his mind obviously lost in the supernatural, Thor was able to study his brother and admire his cold beauty, something he had done more often lately. Even if he tried to cut it out, there were still Loki's hands on his shoulders and his thumbs at the sensitive spots of his throat and it made him lean into the touch.

"I found something. There is dark magic inside of you, but at the moment it is sleeping, so if I am careful, I could surprise it."  
>His thumbs pressed onto Thor's veins with more force, then Thor felt a strange sensation when Loki's magic entered his body. His head began to hurt and Loki's hand slid up to grip Thor's neck, giving him the opportunity to focus on something else.<br>Thor, almost blinded by the sharp pain, was vaguely aware of the hands which held him, beginning to tremble and Loki's face changing into a grimace. He guessed that the binding spell was doing his work, reflecting Thor's pain back to Loki and once again the former wished he could control this to stop it from hurting his brother.

He had trouble forcing his body to stay in place when blood shot out of Loki's nose, followed by his ears. But then the pain intensified and with something akin to an explosion inside of his head, he fell to his knees the same moment Loki did and breathed heavily.  
>He noticed Mjölnir vibrating at his belt in worry of his well-being and he touched her side with one hand to soothe her while he pulled his brother up with the other.<br>"Loki, are you alright?"

"Of course not," chuckled the trickster, his voice mumbling because of the blood in his mouth.  
>"But the sooner I can rest, the better I will be, so let us leave this realm."<p>

Thor slung one of his arms around his back and helped him stand.  
>"Can you sense a portal nearby?"<p>

Loki didn't open his eyes or try to take his weight from the Thunder God's shoulder, making it obvious how worse his condition had become.  
>"The valley at our left. We need to get down there."<p>

Thor obeyed and dragged his brother with him as he walked the small path to the heart of the valley. When they reached it, Thor could see a bright light next to a little dead tree, marking their gateway. It was so easy to see, Thor didn't think of it as a _hidden_ path, but considering at how terrible Loki looked, it had to do the trick.  
>"Are you sure you got everything out of me?"<p>

"Yes, I am entirely sure. I would not have given up before wiping it out."  
>Thor nodded and together with Loki, he took another step and allowed himself to be sucked into the portal.<p>

-0-0-0-0-

Please review! :)


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's note:_

_I'm still surprised by the amazing feedback, so thank you! _

_Muspelheim_

The ride to another world was always an exhausting experience, so it didn't surprise Thor when Loki had passed out by the time they arrived. It was incredible hot here and the sun was hidden behind a fog of smoke that clouded the sky. It was doubtful if this environment would help Loki's recovery, especially considering he actually was a Frost Giant and Thor wasn't sure how much of his true form, apart from his appearance, was suppressed. Anyway, he needed to find a safe place for Loki to rest, so he dragged him across the open space to the foot of a mountain chain.  
>"Why can we never end up in a forest where there are tons of stashes and some inhabitants who could help us? No, we always end up in a desert with nothing but dry ground and mountains."<p>

But just before they reached the first little rocks, a shadow fell over them and a creature landed beside Thor.  
>"What are you doing here, Asgardian?"<br>It was a bit taller than Thor and he couldn't remember ever seeing a world's population that looked this different from the Asgardians: It was completely naked and its very muscular body had a quite long tale and two skinned wings like a big bat or a dragon as well as two horns on its head. The most significant part still was the luminous red skin and the lack of hair.

"I am Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard. I accidentally arrived here after using a gateway in Svartalfheim and now I am searching for a place to allow my brother to rest. We are in Muspelheim, am I right? I have heard many stories about it."

The creature which according to those stories had to be a fire demon, turned his gaze to his brother.  
>"So, if you are Thor, then this has to be Loki Odinson. What happened to him?"<p>

Thor remembered that only the Asgardians knew of Loki's true parentage, so he didn't correct the demon but answered.  
>"That is a long story which you probably would not believe me, but I can say that it is the doing of magic."<p>

The demon nodded.  
>"I figured. He doesn't look to be hurt from the outside. But how do I know this isn't a trap?"<p>

"It is not, but I have to ask you to believe me. I just want to save my brother."

For a few moments the demon looked at him, then he sighed.  
>"Well, I can take you to our king Surtur. He is even older than your father Odin and will see if you are telling the truth or not."<p>

"I was told you are fierce fighters, so how good are the chances your king will hear me out before attacking me?"

"Very good actually. If we kill the two of you, we will risk a war with Asgard and as blood thirsty as we are, none of us wants to get into it that unprepared. Now follow me!"  
>He clapped his wings together and with surprising speed he flew to the direction of the mountains.<p>

Thor grabbed Loki tighter and raised Mjölnir, following that creature to the heart of this world. He wasn't surprised to see they were heading to a volcano, but he definitely didn't expect to see buildings at its sides and even a castle near the top. When they landed, Thor felt drops of sweat on his forehead because of the uncomfortable heat and when he looked at Loki, his brother's brow was furrowed and even though he was unconscious, his body took notice of its surroundings which wasn't a good sign.

The demon noticed it, too.  
>"We should make him wake up. He's more vulnerable when he is sleeping."<p>

He was right, but Thor wasn't sure how to make Loki wake up from the unconsciousness, but the demon already put his hand on Loki's skull and even Thor could feel the intensified heat radiating off the creature. Just seconds later Loki's eyes snapped open, finally focusing on Thor's.  
>"Where are we?"<p>

"On Muspelheim. I am taking you to the king Surtur, he might be able to help you."

"Are you out of your mind? Your priority should be to find Thanos and kill him instead of wasting time with my safety. I will survive."

"You are my brother, Loki, and I love you. So keeping you safe is the only thing I care about right now, everything else has to wait."

They stared at each other and Thor could see the honest surprise in Loki's eyes until the demon interrupted them.  
>"The king will see you now."<p>

Loki let go of Thor and followed the demon inside the castle. Thor tried not to feel hurt, after all Loki was just trying to mask his weak state in front of a king whose affiliations they didn't know yet. The walls were made of a solid black stone which made the huge throne room appear smaller than it was. Between the two guards of the throne stood a figure that was so tall, it took Thor's breath away.

It was at least three times his height, didn't have any wings and the region of its lower body was covered in flames. When it spoke, the ground seemed to rumble.  
>"I am Surtur, the original Fire Giant and ruler of Muspelheim. Heroclix tells me he found the two of you in the midst of our lands and you claimed you had no interest in a battle against us. So, what brings you here, Asgardians?"<p>

Immediately Loki took a step forward, signalizing Thor he wanted to do the talking.  
>"Your Majesty, we were travelling through the realms searching for someone called Thanos who attempts to take those over, starting with Midgard."<p>

"If he was here, I would know. So there is no reason for you to stay longer."

Loki nodded, but Thor interrupted.  
>"My brother Loki is injured. I want to ask for permission to wait in your realm until he has healed."<br>Loki shot him a warning glare, obviously not fond of Thor's decision to lay out the fact that they were not at full power.

Surtur's eyes widened in surprise.  
>"You are Loki Odinson? The Asgardian with great skills in magic?"<p>

"Yes, I am."

Surtur stepped closer and reached out to touch Loki's forehead, ignoring the hand of Thor which automatically had grabbed Mjölnir. Loki didn't so much as flinch when the Fire Giant's finger touched his head and didn't break the eye contact.  
>"You are strong, I have to give you that much credit, but your mind is not far away from a breakdown. You should listen to your brother and stay for a while."<p>

Thor relaxed relieved, but Loki didn't look satisfied.  
>"Why are you helping us?"<p>

"Because then you will be indebted to me, which could be of use someday."  
>Just when Surtur wanted to take his hand away from Loki, he stilled.<br>"There is something off about both your mind and you heart, though. You have been in contact with someone else's dark magic, have you not? I can feel the scars it has caused."

"Thanos' doing," was Loki's simple answer, but Thor was confused about Surtur's deduction.  
>"What about his heart?"<p>

"It has been shattered emotionally, more than once. And I can feel a magic even more ancient than me in it."

"What are you talking about?"

Surtur looked at Thor in despise.  
>"Your father used a binding spell to tie him to you."<p>

It was a statement and no question so Thor just kept quiet while Loki shifted slightly to shield him from the Fire Giant.  
>"It was my choice, not Thor's. This was the only way for him to be allowed to join me."<p>

"You suggested this? Why in Hel's name would anyone allow this to be done willingly?"

It was a question, Thor didn't know the answer to either, so he waited for Loki to respond.

"Because I trust him not to hurt me."

Silence fell upon the throne room until Surtur nodded.  
>"Well, I guess, for siblings this is enough of a reason. Heroclix, take them to their guest room. They will stay until Loki's condition has improved."<p>

The fire demon which had found them out in the open, nodded and motioned for them to follow him up the stairs of one of the castle's towers. They entered a big room with a balcony which had an amazing view over the city surrounding the castle. Apart from the black stone of the walls it seemed pretty normal.  
>Heroclix noticed their glances.<br>"We have guest rooms specifically designed for visitors from other realms. This one is built for the inhabitants of Midgard, Vanaheim and Asgard. I will leave you alone for now. If you need something, just let us know."  
>He left the two gods alone in the room.<p>

For a moment they both lingered in the doorway and watched the sunset which colored the room in a fitting warm orange, then Loki gracefully swung his legs onto the huge double bed and stared up to the ceiling.  
>"You can shower first. In the meantime I will make plans for our further approach."<p>

Thor nodded and walked into the bathroom. He quickly undressed himself and stepped into the shower, noticing there was only hot water available that almost burned his skin. He shouldn't be surprised, this was the realm of fire after all, but he was worried about Loki. Even if he hadn't been weak already, he was still a Frost Giant and preferred the cold. Thor took his time while cleaning himself since it was the first proper shower he had got in days. After some time he turned the water stream off and dried himself with a towel which he wrapped around his waist afterwards.  
>When he walked out to the bedroom again, Loki was already sitting upright and glimpsed at his half naked appearance before standing up. Thor stopped him before he could enter the bathroom.<br>"The water is insanely hot, do you think your body can cope with that, now that you are this exhausted?"

Loki smirked in amusement.  
>"Did you forget that I have magic? This is a task I could even take on if I was on my death bed."<br>With that he disappeared into the bathroom.

When Loki had undressed and had stepped into the shower, turning on the water, he used his magic to slowly cool it off. Since he had discovered he was a Frost Giant, he had experimented quite a bit with the temperature he was able to take, only to discover that his body was perfectly fine with -4° F cold ice raining down on him. That had been the moment he had stopped.  
>And now he was again cooling off the water to the point where no water drops but ice splinters were raining down on him. It was one of these rare moments when he was showing that he had acknowledged the fact that he wasn't an Asgardian. Just when he was about to turn it off and step out of the shower, a pain shot through his head and an image flashed up in front of him:<p>

_Thanos and a few other Chitauri standing over Thor who lay on the ground with a deep bleeding wound at his stomach. Thanos' deep voice whispering to his brother in victory.  
>"I have given you the opportunity to join me. It did not have to end like this."<br>And his hand came down to grab Thor's wrist and twist it the wrong way, causing the god to cry out in pain._

"Loki, please come back to me!"  
>A familiar voice interrupted the scene in his head and Loki found himself on the ground of the shower, staring up into his brother's blue orbs who was holding his face with trembling hands.<br>"Another vision?"

Loki nodded, unable to speak because of a hoarse voice which he assumed was due to his screaming during the vision. Thor helped him stand up and Loki noticed how his brother's eyes wandered down his naked body way too intently.  
>"Why are you staring at me? You act like you have never seen me naked."<p>

"I have never seen how beautiful you are."

Surprised Loki looked up into Thor's eyes again.  
>"Why are you saying that?"<p>

Thor didn't seem to know the answer either as he thought about the question.  
>Loki felt his own heart beat faster when Thor stepped closer until they were facing each other, his hand coming up to Loki's cheek. A bolt of horror flashed through Loki as he remembered what had happened the last time, Thor had touched him like this.<br>"Please, brother, stop it!"

Startled, Thor withdrew his hand.  
>"I am sorry, I have no idea what came over me."<br>He stepped back and left the bathroom, leaving his brother alone.

Slowly Loki dried himself from the melted ice and wrapped the towel around his waist, following Thor to the bed. Thor was already lying on top of the sheets at one side, his eyes closed and pretending to sleep.  
>"Thor, I need to apologize. I was panicking with you touching me and I am sorry if I hurt your feelings."<p>

Thor opened his eyes and turned his head to Loki.  
>"This is about what I did, am I right?"<p>

"You did not do anything."

"Your body seems to disagree."

Loki rounded the bed and lay down next to Thor facing him.  
>"Do not take this on yourself. Yes, Thanos used you to hurt me. And yes, I am scared of him. But I do not want to be scared of you."<p>

Slowly he leant forward until his lips touched Thor's and he immediately felt them responding as Thor deepened the kiss and his tongue touched Loki's lips to ask for entrance. He parted them and let Thor's tongue in, reveling in the sensation of the moment until he felt Thor unconsciously rolling on top of him and suddenly he felt trapped under the body which had already hurt him once.  
>Automatically his magic reacted and with a burst of green light he sent his brother flying to the ground.<p>

"What is wrong, Loki? If you do not want this, just tell me instead of attacking me."  
>Thor picked up the towel, slung it around his body again and lay down on his side of the bed, still facing Loki but not touching him. He took note of his brother's rapid breath and his eyes wide open.<br>"Loki, just-"

"I do want this."

Loki's answer was the one Thor had wanted to hear all along, but it was more confusing than the one he had expected.  
>"Then why do you always take two steps back when I am taking one further?"<p>

He waited as Loki searched for an answer. After what felt like an eternity, the latter sighed.  
>"I need to tell you something. As much as I do not want you to take on even more guilt than you already do, you deserve to know."<br>He paused to take another deep breath.  
>"Last night you did indeed hurt me. Physically and emotionally."<br>Once again he stopped talking to focus and this time it was Thor's heartbeat that sped up as he was waiting for the truth to finally be revealed.  
>"Thanos used your body to violate me."<p>

Thor's heart skipped a beat.  
>"What do you mean with <em>violate<em>?"

Loki closed his eyes and tried to hide his trembling.  
>"I mean you raped me."<p>

It felt like he had taken a blow to Thor's stomach. Now Loki's behavior towards him made so much sense. Thor felt disgusted with himself and turned away from Loki, his voice a whisper.  
>"I am so sorry for what I did to you. I know I cannot undo it, but I will do my best to make it up to you."<p>

Loki opened his eyes again and looked at the back of his brother. That was exactly why he hadn't wanted to tell anyone.  
>"Thor, this is not your fault, I am not holding it against you. I just wanted you to understand why I was so frightened by your actions."<p>

Thor turned to him again and felt tears welling up in his eyes as he looked at his brother and imagined what he must have put him through.  
>"How can you still love me after that?"<p>

"Because I know you would never hurt me willingly. I would have been forced to do the same if Thanos had taken me over."

"No, you would have not. You would have been strong enough to resist his mind control. Maybe I let myself be controlled, because I wanted to fuck you."

Suddenly Thor was lying on his back with Loki sitting on top of him, his silhouette highlighted by the moonlight and for the first time since they had got naked, Thor was able to see Loki's body in all its glory.  
>"You do not want to fuck me, you want to make love to me. There is a difference."<p>

That's when Thor noticed a dark mark at Loki's collarbone, now clearly visible because of the silver moonlight reflecting on his skin.  
>"It does not matter what I want. I still hurt you in the worst way possible, even if I had no intention to do so."<br>He brought up his hand to the mark that was an exact imprint of his own lips, and stroked it lightly.

Loki shivered under the touch, but made no move to back away which gave Thor more courage.  
>"Where else did I hurt you?"<br>He still held on to that small glimpse of hope that maybe some tiny part of him had been present and he had at least done it gently. But when Loki just stared down at his hands and didn't respond, that hope died, too and Thor wanted to punch himself in the face.  
>"No! Tell me I did not…"<p>

As an answer, Loki spread his legs and as soon as his entrance came in contact with Thor's cock, he grimaced in pain and Thor – even if he didn't have much experience in that area – could feel that the ring of muscles was way too loose, indicating that it had been abused too violently not long ago. Thor groaned in anger and Loki, noticing he had got his point across, slid to his side with a tired look on his face.  
>"Like you said, you cannot undo it, so please just let it go! I cast him out of you, so he will never take you over again."<p>

Thor looked into those mysterious green eyes and voiced a promise that probably was more important to himself than to his brother.  
>"I will not rest until I have made him pay for what he did to you. I promise, I will not stop hunting him until you have got your revenge."<p>

Loki smiled at the love and devotion in his brother's eyes.  
>"That puts a very different spin on the name <em>The Avengers<em>. Seems like I have to join your team if I want to protect you from your own stupidity."

They both chuckled.  
>"What you call stupidity, I call courage."<p>

"It does not matter what you call it, it still is the reason why you constantly put yourself in danger. And I do not like that."

"Look at you, getting all overprotective. I should put myself in danger more often if it makes you let down your guard."

"Will you just shut up?" was all Loki could comment on that and to emphasize his point, he leant forward and sealed their lips with a small kiss.

Thor, momentarily taken aback, quickly regained his power of speech.  
>"I like fighting with you."<p>

Loki turned around and Thor was now faced with his back although he could feel his brother snuggling closer to him.  
>"Thor, my dear brother, I was not fighting with you, we were simply discussing. I have very different methods when it comes to fighting."<p>

He pushed back with his ass to Thor's cock and the latter gasped as the action made his blood go southward. Loki, taking notice of the swollen member at his ass, just smiled wickedly.  
>"You really are a manipulative trickster, you know that?"<p>

"I prefer to be regarded as the evil brother. Now go to sleep!"  
>Thor grinned at the bossy voice and put his arm around his brother's body, pulling him even closer. If Loki didn't like that, he didn't voice it and after a few minutes they both had fallen asleep.<p>

~0~

Loki awoke to the sunlight tickling his skin and suddenly felt way too hot. The air was so heavy, it was a surprise he had been able to sleep through the night.  
>Just when he wanted to shift, he noticed an unfamiliar weight on his side and when he opened his eyes, he was looking at the sleeping form of his brother, his arm slung tightly around Loki's middle. The trickster took his time looking at his brother and thinking about what it was, they were getting themselves into. He had known for a long time now that his love for Thor was more than brotherly, but since he had never expected it to be mutual, he had stored it in a dark corner of his heart and twisted it into hate.<br>And now they were sharing a bed, their naked bodies tangled in each other and the memory of the kiss still freshly carved into his mind. Loki wondered why that kiss felt like the most important thing he had experienced when Thor's body had already done so much more to him. Was it so different this time, because it had been a kiss of love, not one of pure lust? Loki had never loved somebody prior to his brother, so he didn't know, but if love made everything feel so different, then maybe even the sex would feel good. Loki shuddered when he remembered the painful first intrusion of Thor's body, it wasn't something he ever wanted to experience again. But on the other hand he wanted his brother to make the angst and the feeling of Thanos violating him go away, wanted to remember the pain as the doing of love like it was supposed to be.  
>His thoughts were interrupted when Thor moved, slowly waking up and causing Loki to smile and stroke his long blond hair.<br>"Good morning, sleepy head."

Thor suppressed a yawn and opened his eyes, studying Loki's face for some time.  
>"You look better than you did yesterday."<p>

"I feel better, too. At least good enough to try the spell."

"Which spell?"

"The spell to locate Thanos by using the imprint I made of his magic while I banned him from you and the magic that still is somewhere inside of me."

Thor stared at him, not sure if he should approve.  
>"Why does that sound so dangerous?"<p>

"Because it is. If he is still in my head - and since he managed to block my magic recently, he must be - I need to be careful. If he notices me too soon, I will fail."

"You do not need to do this. We can wait a few more days until you are at full power again."

"No, Thor, I need to do it now. With every minute I wait, I take the risk that he will use the connection to track us down and surprise us."

Thor nodded, it was the right thing to do after all. He followed the small beam of sunlight that shone on Loki's pale chest with his fingers, feeling the muscles under the skin.  
>"I still cannot believe I am allowed to do this. I never expected you to love me back."<p>

"The same goes for me. If I had known, many things would have turned out differently."  
>He pressed a light kiss to Thor's forehead and turned away to stand up, but his wrist was grabbed midway, causing him to raise an eyebrow at his brother.<br>"I need to get dressed."

"As much as I like all that black leather and the coat, I prefer you like this."

They grinned at each other and Loki climbed onto the bed again, this time adjusting their positions, so that he was now lying atop the blond. He leant down and kissed Thor's neck teasingly slow until the latter's hand grabbed Loki's long black hair and pulled at it, forcing Loki to stop his little game. He crushed their lips together in a hard kiss instead, his tongue exploring Loki's mouth while his brother sunk his teeth into Thor's lips, causing him to jump back.  
>"Ouch! You are going to pay for that!"<p>

They goofed around for a bit more, stealing kisses or throwing pillows at each other until they heard a knock at the door and the guard's voice from behind.  
>"The ruler of Muspelheim demands your presence."<p>

Thor sighed in annoyance.  
>"Just give us a few minutes to dress."<br>When they heard the guard leaving, he added to Loki.  
>"Why does he want to see us already?"<p>

Loki avoided his gaze.  
>"Because he wants to see how strong my magic is. Since I will owe him a favor, he needs to know if I am of use for him."<p>

"I have a bad feeling about this. He could ask anything from you."

"I know, but we do not have a choice."  
>He got out of bed and put his black and green clothes on.<br>"And now stop worrying about me, you are worse than a mother. I am capable of watching out for myself."

Thor sighed, but since there was no use in protesting, he also dressed himself and together they headed for the throne room.

~0~0~0~

_Please review!_


	9. Chapter 9

When they arrived there, the guards left the room to leave them alone with Surtur.  
>"I hope you had a good night, Princes of Asgard."<p>

Loki bowed his head.  
>"Indeed we had. Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, it is not something we will forget."<p>

The Fire Giant looked satisfied with the answer and rose from his throne, taking the three steps which separated him from the gods.  
>"You look better, Loki. At least strong enough to make a promise."<p>

Thor knitted his brows in confusion while Loki raised his head to look the king in the eye.  
>"I am ready. But I hope the favor I owe you, will not interfere with my search for Thanos."<p>

"There is no reason to worry about that. I will not collect the debt in the near future."  
>This time even Loki couldn't mask how little he liked this, but instead of voicing it, he held out his hand and the king did the same.<p>

What seemed like an ordinary handshake to Thor at first, obviously was so much more as the claws of Surtur sank into the back of Loki's hand and the trickster's blood ran over their hands. So they must have made a blood promise, something Thor knew of, but never had made himself. It was not possible to break his word if a blood promise was made, so Surtur had now secured, Loki would keep it.

After a few seconds the king pulled back his hand.  
>"So how do you want to find Thanos? He could be anywhere."<p>

"With a spell, of course. Finding him will not be the problem, but taking him out will be an almost impossible task. I do not know of a way to kill him, so I figured it would be better to send him back to his own world."

"You want to send him back to Titan? I am afraid I do not see the use in that."

"According to the old stories, Thanos killed thousands of its people by dropping nuclear devices including his own mother. I bet the Titans will not give him a warm welcome when he pops up again."

An evil smile spread on Surtur's face.  
>"I can see why they call you the trickster. I will advise my army to prepare for a battle to hold off his army of Chitauri while you try to fight him."<p>

"That is most generous of you, but there is no need for that. We will have better chances of getting him into a fight if we surprise him. Thor and I will contact you once we have figured out when the time to attack has come. What I need from you, though, is more power."

"Why should I grant you that wish?"

"I told you Thanos has the intention to conquer all the realms and someday he might be strong enough to defeat you. I can prevent that, but even my magic is limited. I need more power to open a gate to Titan and force Thanos through it."

After some time of thinking, Surtur nodded.  
>"Very well, I can see your point. But as far as I can tell, you do not need my assistance in that. You already have the key to more power in you. You just need to find it."<p>

Loki and Thor looked at each other, none of them had an idea what the Fire Giant was talking about.  
>"I am afraid I do not understand, Your Majesty."<p>

"I am sure you will when the time is right."  
>He reached out and touched one of Loki's temples.<br>"You need to overcome the binding spell first. It is an obstacle preventing you from doing the right thing. You know what I mean?"

For a moment there was silence and just when Thor wanted to ask what Surtur was talking about, Loki seemed to get the point and his face turned to a cold mask.  
>"Yes, I do."<br>He turned around and left, Thor close behind.

When they reached their room again, the latter finally dared to ask.  
>"What has been going on in there? What was he talking about?"<p>

Loki came to a halt in the middle of the room, closing his eyes and concentrating.  
>"Nothing you need to know. He just opened my eyes to some things."<p>

"What things?"

Loki took his time with the answer.  
>"That I need to be the one to end this, not you."<p>

"Why?"

"Because I do not want you to get hurt."

The confession made Thor shut up momentarily and allow Loki to continue.  
>"I am responsible for this and it is me Thanos wants. I will not allow you to get into the crossfire."<p>

"Loki, no matter what you say, I will not leave your side. I have let you down once, I will not do it again!"  
>Thor took his brother's face into his hands and added.<br>"You are not alone in this!"

Loki felt something inside of him breaking at that. For the first time since they had left Asgard, he was able to believe that their journey could have a happy ending.

They stayed in that position for some time, then Thor let go of him and Loki closed his eyes to concentrate on the spell. He shut out everything and searched his mind for the traces of Thanos magic, examining all its details until he was sure he would be able to recognize it anywhere. Then he sent out a wave of his own magic into the universe. It took a few seconds until he felt the echo coming back to him with an image manifesting in his mind.  
>He opened his eyes and looked at Thor.<br>"He is in Jotunheim."

"Okay, but why this realm?"

At first Loki just shrugged, then realization hit him.  
>"Of course. It is perfect. Why did I not expect this?"<p>

"Loki, would you please tell me what is going on in that mind of yours?"

"Think about it! Jotunheim has lost its king not too long ago. The Frost Giants do not know Laufey's son is still alive, all they know is I was left to die. So the throne has no heir. The most powerful are probably fighting each other to get their hands on the crown. Just imagine how desperate the rest of them is for peace. I bet they do not care who gets the power as long as the killing will stop. And then Thanos comes and promises them peace."

Thor had to agree, it was the perfect plan, but there was still one thing he didn't understand.  
>"But Thanos is not a Frost Giant himself, why would they let him take over their reign?"<p>

"I do not think Thanos just came there and asked for the throne, he probably used magic. Either to disguise himself as a Frost Giant or to influence their thoughts. With no one left who has a rightful claim to the crown, their will can be bent easily."

"So you think he is powerful enough to get into the mind of an entire race?"

"He is a Titan and therefore more powerful than anything we have ever encountered before. So yes, I think it is possible."

"If we want to fight him, we need the other Avengers. There is no way we can do this without help."

Loki nodded.  
>"I know. Let us head to Midgard."<p>

_Asgard_

Tony had never felt more uncomfortable in the presence of so many people. He and Silver were following one of the king's guards through the throne room, the gazes of the other Asgardians at their rears. Maybe it would have been better if that Heimdall guy had escorted them, at least he had believed them.  
>When they stopped in front of the impressive golden throne and looked up to the old man sitting on it, Tony had never felt more tiny. There was an aura of power surrounding this god and despite his age, his gaze was the sharp one of an experienced warrior.<p>

The guard bowed his head and Tony and Silver quickly imitated the motion.  
>"Allfather, Heimdall sent me to bring you these humans. They claim to be friends with the prince."<p>

The old man rose, motioning with his stick for the guard to leave them alone and the other Asgardians quickly followed until the only other listeners of the conversation between the king and the humans were two ravens, one at each side of the throne.  
>"You are just humans. How come you know my son?"<p>

Tony, noticing how Silver shivered under the king's gaze with dilated pupils, decided to be the one to answer him.  
>"Not long ago, we fought by his side to protect our world from his brother."<p>

Realization dawned on the man's face.  
>"Thor has mentioned a group of extraordinary humans called <em>The Avengers<em>."

"Technically, he is also one of us."  
>Tony didn't realize he had said something wrong until the man's face changed with anger.<p>

"How dare you put the prince of Asgard down onto the level of your kind? You are beneath him, little human, and you are lucky I am even hearing you out!"  
>Tony bowed his head again to calm the king's anger, but couldn't help but think of the obvious difference between Thor and his father although he couldn't put his finger on it, yet. He was glad when the voice of the man sounded neutral again.<br>"So how have you managed to get here? I am sure Heimdall would have contacted me if you had called for him."

"Well, actually Loki sent us here."  
>There was silence until the king nodded for him to continue.<br>"The Avengers including us met up again with your two sons to fight the creature behind the new alien attacks similiar to the ones Loki had led. We lost track of their leader Thanos when he used portals to jump between the worlds, so in order to find him as soon as possible, we separated. Silver and I had just met up with Thor and Loki, when the latter sent us away to another world and that's how we ended up here."

"So Loki tricked you?"

"Sort of. It seems like he didn't want us to either slow him down or get hurt."

"You are a fool if you believe he cares about you, so you should rather rule out the latter."  
>The words sent a pang of hatred through Tony and he had to swallow to keep his mouth shut. He began to understand why Loki had turned out to be like he was now.<p>

He was glad to hear Heimdall's familiar voice behind him.  
>"Your Majesty, I must disagree. The tendency to care too much about those he loves is the reason why he lost his way in the first place. You should know that more than anyone else."<p>

Tony frowned but didn't dare to speak, expecting the king to burst out at the disrespect Heimdall showed him, but nothing happened. So he actually valued the latter's opinion and that gave Tony the courage to ask his question.  
>"What do you mean, it was the reason why he lost his way?"<p>

For a moment Heimdall and the king glared at each other as if they had a different opinion about that, but finally the former answered.  
>"Loki felt like he could never live up to his parents' expectations and that he came always second after Thor. This jealousy is without a doubt why he turned on Thor two years ago. The need for his adoptive parents' love made him murder his real father, Laufey, and when all he got was rejection, he let go. Of Gungnir that was preventing him from falling into the abyss. Of the one person he has called his father in all his lifetime. Of everything."<p>

A heavy tension hung in the air after these words until Silver joined the conversation.  
>"So Loki is not Thor's real brother? I didn't know that."<p>

Tony had to admit it was a good question, he hadn't known that either.

"No, our king Odin found him after the victory over the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. He was left there to die by his father Laufey, their king."

"But why did Loki kill his own father?"

"To prove his loyalty to Odin. To show the bond of blood didn't matter to him."

Tony nodded and added, "I guess, considering the twisted mind of his, it does make sense."

The angry voice of the Allfather snapped him out of his thoughts.  
>"It does not matter why he betrayed us. Even if he once was capable of love, you just said yourself he let go. There is no hope for him."<p>

Heimdall's facial expression showed how much he disagreed, but he obviously considered there was no use in fighting with his king – or at least he didn't want to. Tony remembered how much Thor had held on to the hope that some part of Loki was good. He had always thought it just was because of their bond as siblings, but knowing their back story, it made so much more sense. According to Heimdall's story, there had been a time when their love had been mutual. When he now thought back to Loki's recent behavior around his brother, the hurt in his eyes, he couldn't help but think that not all hope was gone. After all, nobody could hurt you more than the one you love the most.

Suddenly Heimdall stiffened, drawing everyone's attention to him.  
>"Thor is calling for me."<p>

He turned around and hurried away into the direction they had come from just yesterday, Silver, Tony and Odin following close behind. In one swift motion, Heimdall plunged his sword into the slot in the middle of his watchtower and opened the Bifröst.  
>A few seconds later two tall silhouettes appeared in the stream of bright light. Tony exhaled a breath he hadn't known he was holding upon seeing Thor and Loki without visible damage.<p>

At the same time, Silver stepped forward.  
>"What the hell were you thinking when you sent us away? We didn't know where you were heading or if we would ever see you again!"<p>

While Loki didn't seem impressed at all, Thor grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes with a calming expression in his own.  
>"We are truly sorry we made you worry, but we needed to get you somewhere safe. The realm we entered after we had sent you to Asgard, is not very friendly towards any weaker species, so I am glad Loki forced you through the portal."<p>

It was exactly what Silver hadn't wanted to hear but just as she was about to protest, Tony grabbed her wrist and stroked the sensitive skin with his thumb, a silent suggestion for her to save the anger for later when the king of Asgard wasn't watching.

Thor nodded thankfully to him, then turned to Heimdall.  
>"Thank you for taking us up here. We need to search for our friends, but we do not know in which realms they are. Do you think you can help us finding them?"<p>

"That should not be a problem. I have sent two of them to Midgard yesterday. Hogun had found them. Their names were Hawkeye and Captain America. I can send you to them and search for the others afterwards."

"Good. We know Nick and Natasha stayed behind with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. while we were out searching for Thanos. So, Bruce Banner is the only one still missing."

Heimdall nodded, but before he could say or do anything, Odin stepped in.  
>"Thor, my son, what is the meaning of this? There are only four days left until the moon is full and you are wasting those last precious days by helping these humans?"<p>

But it was Loki who stepped in front of Thor, his voice like venom.  
>"These humans have to deal with the same enemy we do. Once again our destinies have been entwined, just like your spell has implied. So what are you even complaining about?"<p>

"How dare you speak to me like this? You are still a prisoner of Asgard and I have not made my sentence concerning your future. You should show me some respect!"

Thor's hand came up to his brother's shoulder, signalizing him to let it go. While he was pulling Loki back, he turned to Odin.  
>"Father, we have no time for this argument. There are still a few days left for us to prove he has been influenced. Until the moon is full, his destiny is in my hands, not yours."<p>

Father and son stared at each other for a little while longer, but in the end the former gave in.  
>"Fine, we will talk when you come back."<br>And with that being said, he left them alone.

When Thor turned around, his brother looked at him with a puzzling expression and it hit Thor how his words must have sounded like.  
>"Loki, I am sorry, I had to say it like this, but I needed to convince him to leave this to us. You know, I would not actually bend your will by using the bond, right?"<p>

Loki's expression didn't change, but he nodded.  
>"I know you do not want to. That does not equal you not actually using it."<p>

It was something Thor had never given any thought to. He had never considered there could be a situation where something else might be more important to him than Loki's free will.  
>"I wish I could say you are wrong, but I just cannot."<p>

To his confusion a little smile spread across Loki's face.  
>"I know. I would do the same."<p>

Thor had the unnerving feeling that Loki's words had a deeper meaning than he was able to realize, but Tony interrupted them.  
>"Guys, as much as I appreciate this bonding moment of yours, we need to find the others first."<p>

The two brothers nodded and lined themselves up next to Tony and Silver while Heimdall opened the Bifröst again.  
>"Good luck, Princes of Asgard. I will contact you once I have found your missing friend."<p>

And then the four figures were sucked into a stream of colors.

_Midgard_

When Loki felt ground under his feet again, the surroundings looked quite familiar. They were standing in the middle of New York's greatest skyscrapers, just in front of the _Avengers Tower_. To be more precise, they were in the middle of the street, cars coming to a halt in front of them and many people staring at them in a mix of surprise and horror.  
>Quickly he grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him up from the ground while Thor did the same with Silver. The two humans were awake but a bit disorientated from the harsh ride, maybe even hurt, so the two gods pulled them into the direction of the tall building. Both let out a relieved smile when they managed to enter it and were greeted by some agents they didn't know.<p>

The younger one of them held his badge up which listed him as Agent Grant Ward.  
>"It's good to see you again, Mr Stark, Ms Rakastava. Everyone here was quite worried about you."<br>He commented the sight of the two gods with an unmistakably hostile gaze, but otherwise chose to ignore them.

Silver immediately let go of Thor and allowed Agent Ward to help her into the elevator. Tony tried to follow them on his own, but overestimated his body and nearly stumbled to the ground, Loki's arms coming up just in time to catch him and his voice next to Tony's ear.  
>"Wait, I can fix this."<p>

Before Tony was able to understand what was happening, a warm feeling rushed through his body and his vision stopped spinning. He didn't remember the last time he had felt this good – at least physically.  
>"Now, that was an experience – thanks I guess."<p>

He playfully shoved Loki's shoulder which caused the trickster to tighten his grip around Tony's stomach and force him to stay in place.  
>"You are welcome. But do not grow accustomed to it. Usually I am not this nice."<p>

Tony was about to respond with a joke when he noticed Thor's face darkening with something that looked an awful lot like jealousy. It was ridiculous that he now couldn't even touch Loki without upsetting his brother.  
>"Thor, relax, I'm just developing some sort of fragile friendship with him, nothing more."<p>

Surprised Loki turned around to Thor who sighed, apparently annoyed with himself.

"I am sorry, Tony, I am not doing this on purpose, it just happens."

Loki stepped closer to him, a smug smile on his face.  
>"I like your jealousy even if there is no reason for that."<p>

He leant forward and gave Thor an innocent kiss causing Tony to gasp in surprise.  
>"Okay, what did I miss? Last time I saw you together with Thor, you were terrified whenever he just came near you and now you're kissing him?"<p>

Thor and Loki were saved from having to give an answer by a familiar voice coming from the elevator.  
>"Finally, it's been about time."<p>

They turned around to look at Steve smirking at them, just when Natasha and Nick came down the stairs. Loki's gaze remained fixed at Steve as the superhuman clapped him on the shoulder and Tony could see in their eyes that apparently Steve had known this would happen – or at least suspected it.

Nick came closer, shaking Tony's hand before turning his gaze to the brothers.  
>"So now, we have a Norse God pairing? Great."<p>

His voice was thick with sarcasm, but everybody seemed to just ignore him as Agent Ward came back.  
>"I brought Silver up to her room. All of you should rest just like her. There are rooms for every one of you."<p>

Nick looked at the others.  
>"First we need to set up a plan."<p>

But Steve already motioned for the others to follow Ward and commented that suggestion.  
>"No, we can't plan anything as long as we don't know what happened to Bruce. We need to watch out for ourselves, that includes him."<p>

Nick wanted to argue about that, but Loki quite literally took Steve's side.  
>"He is right. Last time we saw him, Thanos had him brainwashed, he still could be. If we do not want to get an unpleasant surprise, we need to find him first."<p>

Nick let them go, but he obviously didn't like this one bit.  
>The team took the elevator to the highest floor where their quarters were. Steve, Tony, Thor and Loki had their rooms at the north side while the ones of Nick, Natasha, Clint, Maria and Grant were at the south side.<br>Loki was glad he was with the half of these humans he liked the most since he still couldn't stand the sight of Nick and hadn't had much to do with the two agents who were probably still pissed at him for killing off their comrade.

To his surprise Steve didn't disappear in his own room, but followed Loki.  
>"There's something we need to talk about."<p>

Loki opened the door to his green colored bright room and let Steve in, ignoring the curious glances of Tony and Thor who were still in the corridor. After Loki had shut it behind him, Steve flopped himself onto the bed.  
>"Loki, you are an even worse team player than Tony and now you are signing up for our plan? What are you up to?"<p>

Loki walked to the large window and took in the impressive height.  
>"You would not believe me."<p>

"Try me!"

Loki knew it was pointless to refuse him further information, as the leader he deserved to know.  
>"I have unfinished business with Thanos and I want to keep my brother out of this. As long as I am sticking to your plan, I will not draw his suspicion and I might be able to get into a situation where I can opt out without him noticing it first."<p>

Steve had expected many things, but certainly not this. It was a very simple but yet profound reason and once again Steve found himself wondering how much goodness Loki was hiding from the outer world. The thought gave him the courage to ask something he had been rolling around in his head since their last conversation.  
>"How much do you love your brother? There has always been something special in the way you look at each other. As if it was only the two of you and no one else was there."<p>

Out of old habit Loki wanted to laugh it off, but it felt like an insult to his feelings, so he decided to tell the truth instead.  
>"I love him more than I have ever loved somebody in my whole life. I think I always have. But I am not sure yet where this is heading."<p>

When he looked at Steve again, he found the man smiling at him.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just…it's nice to finally understand what's going on in your head. And to know you are not a power thirsty maniac, but just helplessly in love."

Loki smirked and watched Steve leaving his room, a wave of sympathy for the human welling through him. He began pacing through the room impatiently, feeling too useless and after a while he decided to search for Bruce as well. He was slowly getting used to this locating spells, although he had to admit it was way harder to find somebody when he had no connection to him unlike the magic link he shared with Thanos.  
>After half an hour Loki was sure, Bruce was not on Midgard and he reached out further, beginning with Svartalfheim, the last place he had seen him.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

~0~0~0~

After inspecting their rooms – Tony's one was painted in red, Thor's in blue – the two friends had made themselves comfortable in the common room, a plate with food between them on the couch. Thor was now casually dressed in a white V-neck shirt and a pair of blue jeans which still felt odd to him although he had been wearing clothes like these before when his father had banished him from Asgard.  
>After a few minutes of eating in silence Tony grew impatient and asked the one question he couldn't let go.<br>"So, you wanna tell me what happened while we were gone?"

Thor wasn't sure where to start.  
>"Well, what do you want to know?"<p>

"For example, what made your brother regain his trust in you? When we left, he was afraid of lookin' you into the eyes and next thing I know, he's kissing you?"

Thor blushed slightly.  
>"Well, we sorted some things out."<p>

"I noticed."

Thor wasn't sure how much he was able to tell Tony yet.  
>"Well, I did something to Loki I am not very proud of, but he chose to forgive me."<p>

Sensing Thor's discomfort Tony didn't delve deeper into the topic.  
>"Whatever it is that's happening between the two of you, keep it going!"<br>Bewildered Thor stared at him and he added, "I haven't ever seen you this happy. And as far as I can tell, it's bringing out the good side in your brother. And that's definitely something I could get used to."

Thor smiled.  
>"Thank you. But I am not the only one with those problems, right?"<p>

Tony shifted uncomfortably.  
>"I have no idea what you're talking about."<p>

"You and Silver? Have you seen the way she looks at you? It is so obvious that she has a crush on you."  
>Tony didn't react, so he continued probing.<br>"How do you feel about her?"

"I like her very much and she's cute."

"But?"

"But I don't know if I'd be good for her. I always mess up those kind of things, even Pepper couldn't put up with me and she was used to my behavior."

He poured himself a drink while Thor tried to understand the problem.  
>"Why do you think nobody could do that?"<p>

"Like she said, I constantly put myself in danger and even if I wanted to, I couldn't stop. It's just part of who I am."

"Everyone here risks his life constantly, just like you."

"Exactly, so let me sum up our current relationship status. Steve was frozen for about 70 years, so his lover probably is either dead or went on. Bruce cut the connection to his girlfriend, because with the guaranty of hulking out every now and then, he would have been a constant threat to her life. You live in another world, so you had to leave your girl behind, too. And I'm not sure Natasha and Clint are even capable of a relationship. Although I have to admit, I suspect they have a thing for each other."

Thor chuckled.  
>"Yeah, I always assumed they were in a secret relationship. But seriously, I think I understand your point. Although I am convinced you will find love again."<p>

"Maybe. But you're changing the topic, we still need to talk about you and Loki. How do you want to explain this to your father? I met him, he's kind of...let's just say he's not the most open-minded person I know and he's not on best terms with Loki."

Thor also poured himself a drink from the bottle.  
>"I know. I have not given it any thought to be honest, but he will have to accept it."<p>

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then Loki and I have to search for some place else to go. He has already proven his magic is strong enough to fool Heimdall's eyes. As much as I love Asgard and my family, I cannot be without Loki. I have lost him once, I will not let it happen again."

"I will not let you down again."  
>The voice from the door made the two men startle. Loki, still dressed in his Asgardian clothes, was approaching them, his face full of determination and his eyes which always shifted between green and blue, locked with Thor's.<br>"For all my life I have kept my feelings for you inside, because I knew my love for you would tear me apart and eventually kill me. But now that I know you love me back, I can embrace it and if this is my downfall, then so be it."

Thor's eyes were filled with nothing but love and pride as he held the eye contact with his brother, blue and green locking. They had obviously forgotten Tony was still with them. Carefully the human put the plate of food onto the table and got up, whispering to himself.  
>"Okay, I think I should leave. Need to be somewhere else."<p>

The two gods didn't look at him or signalize they have heard him, so he just walked out, leaving them alone.

Back in the corridor he met Clint who was apparently heading for the room Tony had just left.  
>"I wouldn't go in there right now. Or anytime until tomorrow morning."<p>

Clint blinked in confusion.  
>"Why not?"<p>

"Because our two gods are having a moment in there and the way they look at each other, I will be surprised if there will be no torn clothes on the ground within the next half-hour."

Clint grinned which was a rare sight, especially when the trickster was mentioned. It did seem like they had overcome the bottom of their relationship.  
>"I have to admit they need this. So we should tell the others to stay in their rooms for the night."<br>He patted Tony on the back and turned around, pulling the older man with him.

~0~

Looking up to his brother who was still standing in front of him, Thor smiled.  
>"What are you even doing here, Loki? You should be resting."<p>

"Stop treating me like somebody who is weak!"

Thor was taken aback by Loki's snapping.  
>"I do not regard you as weak, I am just worried about you. I cannot imagine how you must feel with everything I have put you through these last days."<p>

Sighing Loki sat down beside him.  
>"Thor, listen to me. You are right, I am not okay. I am in depth to the ruler of Muspelheim, I am afraid Thanos might still be in my head and not to forget my body hurts from him abusing me."<p>

Apologetically Thor turned his head to look into his eyes.  
>"You mean from me abusing you."<br>Loki opened his mouth to protest, but Thor put his finger on it to silence him.  
>"No, do not make up any excuses for me. Thanos may have twisted my will, but he could have never changed my true feelings, my desire for you."<p>

After a few moments of letting the words sink in, Loki asked.  
>"You still desire me, do you?"<p>

"I will never force my will onto you again."

"That is not an answer to my question."

Thor felt terrible, having to admit the truth.  
>"Yes, I still do. I will always want you."<p>

The confession hang heavy in the air between them and Thor expected his brother to back away, but he took his hand instead, standing up and pulling Thor with him.  
>Not daring to speak Thor let himself be lead to Loki's room, not sure what to expect when Loki shut the door behind him.<br>He could see the trickster's eyes glowing in a luminous green in the dark and suddenly the candles in the room lit up, brightening the room just enough to frame the silhouettes of their bodies.  
>And then Loki leaned forward and sealed Thor's lips with his own, the kiss gentle to give Thor the chance to either take it further or pull back.<br>Without thinking Thor did the former, kissing back and opening his mouth, their tongues battling for dominance.  
>Loki motioned them towards the bed and next thing Thor knew, Loki was under him on the sheets, his hand under the taller one's shirt.<p>

With all rational thinking he had got left, Thor pulled back, his hand grabbing Loki's wrist to stop the movement.  
>"Loki, wait! You do not have to do this! I can wait until you are ready."<p>

Loki opened his eyes and to Thor's horror they were filled with unshed tears.  
>"I want to feel you in me, Thor! I want you to love me until my whole body is hurting from you, not him!"<p>

Thor let Loki's hand go and cupped his face.  
>"I will not take advantage of your angst, brother! If I did, I would not be a better man than he is."<p>

A single tear escaped Loki's eyes as his own hands came up to mirror Thor's position.  
>"You already are. You are giving me the choice. But you are wrong, I do not want to suffocate my pain in the sensation, I want you to show me what real love feels like."<p>

For a moment Thor just continued staring into those green orbs, not remembering a time where he had seen so much love in them, open and raw.  
>When he made his decision and leaned down to kiss his brother again, Loki smiled against his brother's lips, his hand tangling in the blond hair.<br>Thor broke the kiss to allow them a breath, then he began kissing his way down Loki's neck, unfolding the too many layers of his brother's clothes with every light kiss.  
>He stopped and sat up, admiring the sight of Loki's exposed chest.<br>"You are beautiful, you know that?"

"Of course, I do."  
>Loki smirked and let his hands slide under Thor's white shirt again, pushing it up over his head and tossing it away.<br>Now it was Loki's turn to stare at the muscular upper body, he had seen so many times, but not once touched this way.  
>His fingers began to explore Thor's skin, slowly sliding down from his shoulders to the abs and further to the hips.<br>Thor had closed his eyes and shuddered under the soft ministrations, an experience Loki wanted to burn into his memory forever.  
>He came up to kiss the bone in the middle of his brother's chest, leaving a wet trail with his tongue as he went down and followed the small line of blond hair that began under Thor's navel and disappeared at the waistband of his jeans.<br>He looked up to see Thor gazing down at him, his eyes dark from lust and his hands buried in the raven curls of his brother.  
>Carefully Loki opened the zipper of the jeans and pulled them down to Thor's knees, allowing the blond to leave the bed and get rid of this annoying last piece of clothing.<br>Loki turned to his side and let his eyes roam over the now completely naked body until Thor's erected member caught his eyes.  
>Absently he licked his lips and before he knew what he was doing, he felt his magic reacting to a thought in his head and his last clothes were gone, too.<p>

Thor's eyes widened in surprise and slowly he stepped closer again, his eyes wandering so intently over his brother's pale skin that Loki shifted uncomfortably, not used to that much attention.  
>Thor tried to hang on to the last piece of sanity in him.<br>"Are you sure about this?"

As an answer Loki got up to his knees and brought their lips together in a passionate kiss, his arms coming around Thor's middle and pulling both of them back onto the bed again.  
>The two gods gasped when their cocks brushed together and Loki tried to swallow the rising panic inside of him, caused by the memory of what pain this part of Thor's body had inflicted on him just two nights ago.<p>

Nonetheless Thor noticed the fear in his eyes and felt the urge to wipe it out and fill these green eyes with the same love they had shone with a few seconds ago.  
>"Loki, it is me, just look into my eyes!"<br>His brother obeyed and Thor stroked his cheek in affection.  
>"Tell me when it is too much and I will stop, okay?"<p>

"Okay."  
>Not breaking the eye contact with his brother, Thor rolled his hips and to both their surprise Loki bucked up against him, their cocks rubbing against each other again.<br>Despite his growing arousal Loki felt the fear nudging at him although he knew his brother would never hurt him.  
>He tried to focus on Thor's hand which was still resting at his cheek, the touch comforting and saw Thor's eyes darkening even further with lust, but there was still so much love in them that there was no comparison to the man who had taken him against his will.<br>This time he was looking at his brother whom he had loved for longer than he could remember and it gave him the strength to fight back the fear.  
>His left hand still at Thor's back, he put the other one between them and took Thor's member into it.<br>The blond's body shuddered at the unexpected sensation and he closed his eyes. Tightening the grip, Loki gave it a slow stroke, drawing a deep moan from his brother, the sound sending a wave of blood rushing southward and Loki could feel that both of them were rock hard now.  
>"Thor, I want you inside of me."<p>

The taller one opened his eyes again, a beautiful mix of lust, joy and concern on his face.  
>"Alright, but please tell me to stop or hit me with your magic when it gets too much."<br>His right hand wandered from Loki's hip to the inner side of his thigh and further until it circled the entrance and as he leaned down to kiss Loki again, he let a finger slide into his hole.

Immediately Loki stiffened, the feeling uncomfortable, but not painful yet and ignoring the images of last time that popped up in his head, he forced himself to relax.  
>Thor gave him a reassuring smile and added a second finger, but this time Loki could feel his body burning slightly and he tensed.<br>He hadn't even managed to get his breathing under control again when Thor spread his fingers, scissoring and preparing him.  
>Loki wasn't sure if he was whimpering or moaning, probably both, but he found himself rutting against Thor in pleasure, demanding more.<br>But when Thor added a third finger, the pain made him stop and the only thought in his head was to get Thor's fingers out of him, the burning too familiar.  
>But this was not Thanos and with tears at the corners of his eyes, he locked them with Thor's again who was so unbelievably patient with him.<br>He forced himself to breathe and when Thor's fingers continued their actions inside of him, Loki took his brother's cock into his hand once again to stroke it.

Thor's voice dropped dangerously.  
>"Stop it, you are driving me crazy!"<p>

"Then take me now!"  
>To emphasize his point Loki let his thumb rub over the head of Thor's member, causing another loud moan.<p>

Granting Loki's wish, Thor slid his fingers out of him and the black-haired whimpered at the sudden emptiness until he felt the tip of Thor's cock at his entrance.  
>Halting for a moment, Thor kissed his tears away and Loki felt his heart hammering so loud in his chest at what was about to come, that he nearly missed Thor's soft whisper.<br>"I love you."

And then he pushed in.  
>Loki cried out in pain, his mind at the brink of a breakdown. Thor didn't move and planted feather light kisses to Loki's neck.<br>"Loki, look at me! Just breathe!"

It took Loki all of his self control not to panic, but to open his eyes instead.  
>He took a few even breaths and relaxed a bit around Thor's cock which filled him out as if their bodies had been made to fit together like this.<br>Carefully Thor began to move inside of him and it hurt like Hel, probably because of the harsh intrusion he had endured recently.  
>That night flashed in Loki's head again and he spread his legs wider, closing his ankles behind Thor's back, his fingernails digging into Thor's shoulders as this action made Thor sink in even further.<br>"Love me, Thor, please! I want to fall apart in your arms and feel you in me for all eternity."

His words nearly made Thor's heart burst from happiness.  
>"You cannot say things like that."<p>

His pace sped up and with every thrust the memory of the brainwashed Thor violating him faded before Loki's eyes, getting replaced by the present image of his beloved brother, lost in the sensation of their bodies.  
>The pain was all consuming, blending into pleasure as he came closer to his climax. It was too much, Thor inside of him, his thrusts getting both faster and harder, the mix of pain and pleasure and that tearing feeling in his heart, knowing all of this was Thor.<br>His brother was so caught up in the act that he had forgotten to go gentle on Loki, but the younger one didn't mind – in fact it was exactly what he had wanted.  
>His already sore inside hurt so much that it would probably sting for days, erasing the feeling of Thanos inside of him.<br>Loki didn't prevent the tears from rolling down his face as his eyes met Thor's which were shining with so much love and passion that he was sure he would drown.  
>At that exact moment another jolt of pleasure hit him and with a strangled cry, Loki's vision went white and he came over both their stomachs.<p>

Thor held him with one arm at his back, the other one wrapped around Loki's cock to milk him dry.  
>Just a few seconds later, overwhelmed by the vulnerable look in his brother's eyes, Thor came inside of Loki with a roar.<p>

This time it was Loki who held his brother as he rode out his orgasm, enjoying how his brother's load filled him.  
>With a sob Thor collapsed on top of his smaller brother, an endearing mix of exhaustion and utter happiness on his face.<br>With a small smile Loki kissed Thor's hair.  
>"I love you, too."<p>

He felt Thor chuckling against his chest.  
>"I know."<p>

His voice was quite sleepy already, so Loki reminded him.  
>"We need to clean up our mess."<p>

Grudging, Thor rolled to Loki's side, noting his brother was right: The sticky evidence of their love-making was beginning to dry on their stomachs.  
>But he frowned when his gaze went to the lower part of Loki's body, watching not only his own come trickling down the long legs, but also an unhealthy amount of blood.<br>"I hurt you. God, I am so sorry!"

He looked up to see his little brother still smiling at him.  
>"Do not be sorry, brother. I wanted you to show me how different love makes the pain feel like and that is exactly what you did. Thank you for giving me this precious memory, I will save it until my very last breath."<br>He leaned forward to give Thor a reassuring kiss and when they finally pulled apart and opened their eyes again, Thor watched the green taking over and suddenly their stomachs were clean.

Thor looked and was relieved to see that Loki's blood was also gone.  
>"Did you heal yourself?"<p>

"No, I want to feel you. I would never erase you."

Thor chuckled.  
>"There is definitely something very wrong with you."<p>

"Well, I am in love with you, so I guess you are right."  
>And kissing they fell asleep.<p>

~0~

When Thor was awakening rather slowly the next morning, the first thing he saw was his brother curled up at his side, his face hidden behind his ruffled black curls.  
>Smiling, he got up and put on a loosely fitting pair of trousers, Tony had called pajamas and insisted it was what humans wore in the morning if they didn't want to get properly dressed yet. Trying hard not to disturb Loki's well-deserved sleep, Thor sneaked out of the room and walked into the kitchen at the other end of their wing.<br>Despite the early time he was not alone as he noticed Clint sitting at the table, cleaning his bow. Steve, wearing nothing more than his pants, was standing in front of the stove and working on scrambled eggs if the delicious scent was anything to go by.  
>"Good morning."<p>

His two friends turned their heads towards him and Steve nodded with a grin.  
>"Yeah, mornin' to you, too."<p>

Thor sat down on the chair next to Clint rather ungracefully since his body was still halfway asleep. He noticed Clint staring at him with a strange expression.  
>"Do I have something in my face or why do you look at me like that?"<p>

Steve halted in his work, but didn't cut off Clint's answer.  
>"No. I was just wondering if you need some more sleep after that exhausting task last night."<p>

Thor shifted nervously, not knowing how to answer. He wasn't sure how well his friends would handle the truth since Loki had been their enemy once.

Steve saved him from answering.  
>"What Clint's tryin' to say is that you weren't exactly quiet and since his room is next to Loki's, he probably heard more than he wanted to."<p>

Thor felt his cheeks blushing while Clint laughed.  
>"Yeah, Steve's right, but I suggest next time you take it easier at least when we're in a city, Nick is furious because he can't explain what happened and Tony decided it was best not tell him."<p>

Now Thor was utterly confused.  
>"What are you talking about?"<p>

Sighing, Clint gripped his arm and dragged him to the window at the river side.  
>"Just look!"<p>

That's when Thor realized what Clint had meant.  
>The coast of Manhattan was covered in ice and snow and it seamed like many houses had been damaged.<br>"I do not understand what this has to do with my intercourse with Loki."

"A lot" came a voice from behind.

They turned around to look at Tony in his dressing gown, pouring a cup of coffee from the pot. He turned to Steve.  
>"Jesus Christ, would you please put some clothes on? We don't want the female agents who'll be here any minute, to start drooling at your sight."<p>

Steve was too used to Tony's behavior to feel offended, so he put the frying pan with the scrambled eggs onto the table before leaving to search for some clothes.

Thor raised an eye-brow.  
>"Well?"<p>

Sitting down on Steve's chair, Tony put some of the food onto his plate before answering.  
>"Last night the weather forecast predicted something like <em>a starlit sky without rain, snow or even a breeze<em> . But when I got into bed, I seriously thought the world was about to end with all the thunder and that blizzard. I've never seen them happening at the same time and certainly not to that extent. It's been all over the news this morning because of the damage it has caused. No meteorologist can explain where the storm came from nor where it disappeared to. To say the least, Nick is pissed."

Thor scratched his neck to cover up how awkward this situation was.  
>"What does he think happened?"<p>

Instead of Tony, a new figure who was coming into the kitchen along with the now dressed Steve, answered.  
>"He thinks we had a big fight. I just ran into him."<br>Loki winked at Thor and began staring over his exposed chest which shouldn't feel so intimidating after everything that happened last night, but it still did.

Steve shoved a plate with food into Loki's hand.  
>"Seriously guys, get a room. I was hoping that sexual tension between you would shrink after you had let off some steam. As happy as I am for the two of you, you're setting our teeth on edge."<p>

Thor was confused about Steve's mood, but the knowing glint in Loki's eyes silenced him as he listened to his brother's response.

"I bet."

Steve's brows furrowed, but he didn't comment.

Instead, it was Tony who asked.  
>"What is that supposed to mean?"<p>

Loki answered on Steve's behalf.  
>"I was just referring to his feelings for a certain someone."<p>

Tony shifted his gaze from the god to the super human.  
>"Is he right? Who is it?"<p>

"Just leave me alone, okay?"  
>With an annoyed sigh Steve left the kitchen again.<p>

Just when Tony wondered what he had done wrong now, Nick and two female agents appeared in the doorway.  
>"Thor, Loki, a word!"<br>The latter couldn't hide his devious smirk as he followed his brother and Nick Fury outside to the corridor.  
>"What the hell were you doing last night?! You caused a blizzard to devastate New York City and together with the thunder, it was pretty easy for me to identify your signature. Next time you're fighting, just do it with words, are we clear?"<p>

Neither Thor nor Loki felt the need to correct Nick's assumption, so they just nodded, Thor with concern while thinking who had got hurt in the disaster, Loki still with his smirk because of the innocent reason Nick had assumed to be the cause of the storm.

Their thoughts were interrupted when Nick turned to the trickster.  
>"Our satellites weren't able to locate Bruce Banner anywhere on Earth and their operating range is too small to search in outer space, of course. So I guess you could be useful."<p>

"So you finally realized you need my help for that?"  
>Thor shot him a warning glare, so Loki let it go.<br>"Fine, I will do it. Give me some time alone and as soon as I have found him, I will let you know."

With these words he left the two men.

~0~0~0~

Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

Still a bit furious Steve had reached the kitchen of the south wing, not sure if he was just here to eat in silence or was unconsciously seeking out a different company. Nevertheless, he didn't mind at all when he didn't find the kitchen empty but someone standing at the sink and washing some dishes.  
>"Mornin' Silver. I didn't actually think you'd still be here, it's close to noon after all."<p>

She chuckled and threw him a dishtowel to help her.  
>"Yeah, I'm not that much of a morning person."<p>

"No good attitude for someone working in an office. Are you sure you've got the right job?"

Her face turned sad and her voice was less cheerful.  
>"You're right, it's not what I want. But I wanted to work for Tony Stark for quite some time now, I wanted to meet him in person."<p>

Steve didn't have to ask why, he already knew where this conversation was heading.  
>"You were hoping he'd fall in love with you, too."<p>

"It's foolish and naive, I know. I never expected it to work, I just wanted to be close to him. Mission accomplished, I'd say, even if it turned out way more different and crazier than I wished for. But the closer you get to someone, the more you can get hurt, right?"

"What did he do?"

"Nothing. I just overheard a conversation he had with Thor where he said he's not in love with me. I should have known that, I probably even did, but I had hoped with everything that happened and the way he treated me, he had developed feelings for me, too. I was wrong."

Putting the towel aside, Steve put a hand on her back and rubbed it gently.  
>"No, you were not wrong. He likes you very much, it's just not the kind of love you want."<p>

"If that is supposed to cheer me up, it fails horribly."  
>Silver managed to hold the tears back, she didn't want to cry in front of Steve. Taking a deep breath, she tried to change the topic.<br>"Enough about me, why are you here? You've got a kitchen in your own wing."

Avoiding her gaze, Steve went back to drying the dishes.  
>"It was a bit too crowded."<p>

"Steve!"

"What?"

"I just bore my heart to you, now it's your turn."

Sighing in defeat, he faced her.  
>"Fine, but actually, you might be the last person who wants to hear this. I think I have fallen in love with someone."<p>

"That's great, who's the lucky one?"

He didn't respond, but watched her expression slowly changing from excitement to bitter realization.  
>"No. You did not fall in love with Tony of all people, did you?"<p>

"Like I said, you're the last person who wanted to know this."

"That's not my point, Steve! I don't have a problem with you falling in love with him, it's just...he doesn't love you back either, does he?"

"Would I be here if he was?"

"I suppose not. That actually serves as a good reason for the two of us to bond, you know?"  
>She smiled and Steve found it to be contagious. But before he was able to respond, a familiar voice filled his head.<p>

_I need to talk to you, Captain. Now._

Steve sighed, ignoring Silver's curious look.  
>"Sorry, I've got to go. Don't want to anger a god."<p>

"Right, you better hurry then."  
>She winked as he quickly left the kitchen and was walking back the way he had just been coming from.<p>

He should be mad that Loki was communicating with him by entering his mind without asking, but he just coudn't bring himself to do that. Loki was used to his magic, so he probably hadn't meant to show off but assumed this was the fastest way to get to Steve.

When he reached the north wing, he saw Thor already waiting for him in front of Loki's room. He looked as confused as Steve felt, so they probably were here for the same reason. Thor twisted the handle of the door and let Steve go in first, but both came to a halt when they noticed Loki was not alone here.  
>Clint was sitting comfortably on the couch, nodding at his two friends in recognition. Loki smiled at them, but it didn't reach his eyes.<br>When both Steve and Thor had sat down next to Clint, he began pacing around in his room.

"First of all, I need everyone of you to promise me that you will not tell anybody else about this meeting. It is the reason, I have reached out to you with my magic, I did not want someone else to overhear us."

Thor tensed at his brother's words.  
>"Loki, what is it? You are scaring me."<p>

After a significant pause Loki stopped in his tracks and turned to him.  
>"I have located Bruce Banner."<p>

The three men looked at him in surprise, then Steve panted, "That's great, Loki! But why wouldn't you tell the others?"

"Because there is more to it than meets the eye. The good news is that he is in Alfheim."

While Thor let out the breath he had been holding, Steve and Clint didn't understand what exactly was the good news in that, so Loki explained.  
>"Alfheim as well as Vanaheim and Asgard belongs to the higher branches of Yggdrasil, the tree of life which connects the nine realms. It is the home of the Light Elves, a very wise people that tends to stay out of the matters of the other realms, but never refuses to help those in need. The Asgardians learned their arts of healing from the Light Elves and I am sure they have sensed that Bruce needed their help. So Alfheim is the safest place where he could be."<p>

Clint leaned back and sighed in relief.  
>"Finally a little bit of luck!"<p>

"Yes, but we need to hurry. Even if they managed to break Bruce's link with Thanos, our enemy knows exactly where to look since he will probably be able to feel it when they cut him off. We need to head for Alfheim now."

Steve frowned.  
>"But I still don't get why the others can't know about this."<p>

"I will tell them as soon as you have left. But I needed to talk this through with you first, because this might be our last chance to meet in private."

Neither Steve nor Clint were able to grasp his point, but from the corner of his eye Loki noticed that Thor had stiffened and his face was wary.

"What is so important for us to know, brother?"

"When we take Bruce back with us, I will ask the Light Elves to join us in the final fight against Thanos and the Chitauri. I am positive they will take our side since Thanos aims to conquer every world including theirs and they are intelligent enough to assume that."

Thor nodded in agreement while Steve still waited for this to make sense.  
>"Then where's the catch?"<p>

"The Light Elves are strong and fierce warriors despite their elegant appearance, but they will be busy enough with the Chitauri, so we have to take on Thanos alone. He is a coward, so I doubt he will be leading his army into battle but prefer to watch it from the sidelines. It will take time for me to find him, but when I do, I need you to hold everything off that comes in my way."

Finally realization dawned on Steve's face.  
>"You want to take him on alone?"<p>

"Exactly."

Before Steve could even think about this turn of events, Thor had stepped forward and grabbed Loki's arm.  
>"No."<p>

"Brother, this is my battle. You have never even met him, you do not know how to battle him."

He tried to free himself, but Thor just tightened his grip, his voice low and commanding.  
>"You will not take him on without our help."<p>

Clint and Steve were already taking some steps back from the gods as they expected a fight within the next seconds, but to their surprise Loki just groaned in pain, his facial expression turning desperate.  
>"Thor, stop it! You promised you would never use the binding spell against me."<p>

The stern face of Thor softened, but he didn't let the smaller one go.  
>"I know and I am sorry. But I will not watch you die again. I have already lost you once."<p>

The words seemed to trigger a memory as the mix of pain, anger and frustration in Loki's eyes faded, leaving nothing behind but defeat.  
>"Fine. It is settled then. Let us inform the others."<p>

He waited for Thor to let go, but the blond remained still, his face full of guilt.  
>"Loki, please forgive me, but I have to do this. I would not be able to go on without you."<p>

There was a long silence following his words until the trickster's face softened as well.  
>"I know."<br>He reached forward and crushed their lips together, not caring that Steve and Clint were watching them.  
>Thor responded immediately, but before he could slip his tongue in, Loki had broken the kiss and opened the door to let all of them out.<br>Thor didn't want to leave yet since he could feel something unspoken hanging between them, but he knew he had already stretched Loki's nerves enough, so he left the room, his two friends close behind. But Loki's hand shot forward and he gripped Clint's arm gently but also firmly.  
>The latter looked up into Loki's eyes and waited while the god closed the door behind Steve and Thor.<p>

"Agent Barton, I need you to promise me something."

Clint didn't like the determined hint in his voice.  
>"What is it?"<p>

"When we fight the Chitauri, I want you keep an eye on the others, especially my brother."

"They don't need me to watch out for them."

"That is not what I asked you to do, Clint."

Noticing the change in the salutation, Clint turned Loki's words around in his head until he understood what was expected from him.  
>"You want me to ensure they won't prevent you from fighting Thanos on your own."<br>Loki nodded and Clint sighed.  
>"I can't do that to Thor. If something happens to you, he will be devastated."<p>

"I have no intention of dying yet. And as an agent you probably are smart enough to assume that Thanos will not be taken down by physical strength. I am a wielder of magic, so I must be the one to face him. Still, it will be a very difficult task, an impossible one if I constantly have to worry about my lover's safety."

Clint hadn't  
>thought about that and had to admit it was logical.<br>"Why me?"  
>An almost sad smile spread on Loki's face.<p>

"Because you are the only one of them who is not too attached to me. The strength of the Avengers is based on friendship and you are the only one who still holds a grudge against me."

"You're talking about you brainwashing me, right?"

"Yes. Additionally you are an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and therefore prepared to make sacrifices."

That pricked up Clint's ears.  
>"You haven't mentioned sacrifices before."<p>

"When I was alone with Thor, I formed an alliance with the king of the fire demons, Surtur. He told me the key for defeating Thanos is me breaking the spell that binds me to Thor. Back then, I was not sure of the meaning behind this, but I am now. Right now, Thor has the power over my will as you have just witnessed. I need to break the bond between us, so that I am able to do whatever is necessary."

"You mean, so that you can be reckless."

"If you want to say it like that. I can only win against Thanos if I am prepared to risk everything, but I cannot do this with Thor trying to keep me safe."

The tactical killer in Clint was agreeing with everything Loki had just said, still Clint couldn't bring himself to give in so easily.  
>"He's doing this, because he loves you, Loki."<p>

Suddenly, the god's face was more vulnerable than he had ever seen.  
>"I know. But that is also why I need to do this. I have loved him for all my life, so I will not watch him fighting when he has no chance of winning. I on the other hand might have a good one thanks to my magic."<p>

Clint couldn't help but notice how much these two brothers were different yet so much alike.  
>"Okay, I promise I'll help you. But I can't shake off the feeling, you're not telling me everything."<p>

"That is not for me to tell and you to know."

Nodding, Clint opened the door to leave, almost missing Loki's silent words.

"Thank you, Clint."

~0~

An hour later Loki and the five Avengers were ready to leave Midgard. Nick had not been happy about their plan to go alone, claiming anything could happen to them without him noticing, but Loki suspected he just wasn't used to not being in control of everything.  
>Silver had understood that she couldn't come with them, because it would get too dangerous for an ordinary human, but she had only given in after Tony and Steve had made Nick promise he would allow her to stay and keep her updated if there was something important going on.<br>Thor had just retrieved the Tesseract from the safe under the _Avengers Tower_ where it had been stored since he had arrived on Midgard with Loki.  
>Nick, Silver and some agents were standing at the edge of the rooftop, carefully keeping their distance when Steve spoke.<p>

"We won't come back here until all of this is over and I'm convinced we will meet just like we're now departing, only with Bruce in addition. Wish us luck."

He grabbed the handle of the Tesseract on the opposite side where Thor was alreading holding it. At one side Thor's hand was joined by Loki's, their fingers entwining, before Clint's hand was overlapping theirs. At the other side Tony laid his hand over Steve's and the latter almost shivered from the sensation and he could feel Silver's sympathetic smile from the sidelines while Natasha's hand joined theirs.

Nick took a small step forward.  
>"The fate of all the worlds is in your hands now. We count on you."<p>

Then Steve pulled the handle, releasing the energy that embraced them like a wildfire and then they were sucked upwards. It was an undescribable experience, not really comfortable and he had to admit he liked Heimdall's way much better, but at least it didn't take longer. Just a few seconds later Steve's feet hit the ground and like all the others except the two gods, he fell to the ground from the hard landing.

Thor looked around.  
>"I have never been to Alfheim before. It is beautiful."<p>

He was right. They had landed in the middle of a forest glade, the sun warming up their skins. Except for the blue sky and the great mountain in the distance they were surrounded by very old trees, bigger than anything that was ordinary by Midgardian standards.

Tony was the first to break out of their awe.  
>"Well, it doesn't look like I have to put on my suit for now. That's a win, I'd say."<p>

Clint had run to one of the trees and was now jumping and climbing higher, the others watching him while Tony asked.

"What are you doing, searching for a place to build your nest?"

"I'm searching for any sight of a town or a village nearby. If the Tesseract has brought us here, Bruce shouldn't be too far."

Loki sighed and hurried to explain.  
>"I doubt you will find anything from this far away. The villages of the Light Elves are very different from that of other races. They are considered to be the guardians of nature, that's why they live in the trees."<p>

Tony chuckled.  
>"In the trees, seriously? Like in <em>Lord of the Rings<em>?"

Loki frowned in confusion just like Thor and Steve at his sides, causing Tony to roll his eyes.  
>"Forget what I just said."<p>

Clint's voice from above them captured their attention.  
>"Well, it seems like Loki is right. All I can see are mountains, lakes and forests."<p>

Natasha looked to the two gods.  
>"So, how are we supposed to find them?"<p>

"We are not," was Loki's simple answer and she turned to Thor who added, "He means we will wait here until they find us. Like Loki said they are one with nature, so they will have noticed the disturbance in energy when the Tesseract sent us here."

Steve stepped to Natasha's side.  
>"What makes you so sure they will welcome us with open arms?"<p>

But it was Loki who answered him.  
>"They will not, that is why you should let me do the talking."<p>

"Now, that's comforting."

They fell silent, Natasha waiting for Clint to climb down the tree while Steve and Tony stood in the middle of the glade as if they were awaiting an attack. Thor took Loki's hand in his, his thumb rubbing over the sensitive skin at his wrist to make Loki's mask go away.  
>"Brother, I still need to thank you for this."<p>

"What do you mean?"

"You helping us to get Bruce back. It is not a part of your original search and I never had to ask you to do it, you just went along."

Loki smiled.  
>"Only a fool would leave the Hulk behind. Besides, he is your friend and I would not want to anger our God of Thunder."<p>

He grinned during the last words and Thor moved closer, their faces just inches apart.  
>"I would love for you to make me angry, because then you would have to make it up to me."<p>

Loki's grin faded and got replaced by desire.  
>"And how would I have to make it up?"<p>

"I am sure you can think of some way to satisfy me."

"You are insatiable."  
>Then he crossed the last distance and kissed Thor gently, trying to pull back after a second, but Thor's grip tightened and he deepened the kiss, their tongues circling around each other in a wild dance.<p>

"Guys, could you please wait until you are alone?"

Steve's complain made them break apart, but they still looked at each other with a smile that was too intimidating for the others.  
>Shaking his head in amusement, Steve turned his back on them, just as eight figures jumped out of a tree crown, all of them armed with bow and arrow aimed at them, except for the one in the middle, probably their superior who just had a dagger in his hand.<p>

"What brings the the two princes of Asgard and four humans into our realm? We rarely have visitors."

Steve stepped forward.  
>"We think a friend of us is with you and we are here to take him back with us."<p>

The elf focused on him, his eyes narrowing slightly.  
>"And if you are right? Do you want us to give him back and let you leave?"<p>

Now it was Tony who answered.  
>"Actually, yes, that was the plan."<p>

"Silence, everyone!" Loki ordered and approached the elf carefully. "You know I am Loki of Asgard, but since you obviously are the leader of the King's Watch, you probably know that I am more than that."

The elf took his time with his answer.  
>"You are right, I do. You are the son of Laufey, the former ruler of Jotunheim and the winds whispered to me, also his murderer. That is not a reputation that amplifies trust."<p>

"What is your name, warrior?"

"Tuor."

"Tell me, Tuor, where would your loyalty lie? With the man that you don't know and that abandoned you or the one whom you considered your father for all your life?"  
>The Elf didn't answer, but understanding was written all over his face when Loki continued.<br>"I let my emotions decide my actions. I was a fool, I know that now."

Tuor straightened and broke the eye contact, turning away from Loki.  
>"Our people does not like Odin very much, because of the many wars he has fought, even though he seems to have changed. Our kind is very open with its feelings, that is why we do not seek contact with the other realms, but I can sense something very raw and pure about you, Loki, even if it has been twisted and distorted. Allowing your feelings could either be your rescue or your doom, but not the wisest man could tell which path you will choose."<br>He blinked as if he was trying to shake these unsettling thoughts off his mind.  
>"I sympathize with you, I truly do, but my opinion does not count. I need to take you to Freyr, our king, he has been expecting someone to come although I am sure he will be surprised to see the two Asgardian princes. Come with me."<p>

It was no question and when his companions circled Thor, Loki and the four humans, they had no choice but to follow Tuor.


	12. Chapter 12

„Welcome to Alfheim, travelers! You had me waiting longer than I expected."

Freyr's voice was gentle and soothing, but filled with so much power, it made his guests bow their heads in respect.  
>Freyr let his gaze shift to each of them, no emotion visible that could give an indication what he was thinking. When he laid eyes on Thor, his face lit up and rose from his throne, coming down the stairs to lay a hand on the man's shoulder in an elvish salutation.<br>"Thor, Crown Prince of Asgard, it is a pleasure to finally meet you again. I have not seen you since you were a baby. You look so much like your father."

The last sentence sounded almost questioningly and Thor dared to look at the king, taking in his soft features framed by the rather cold blond hair that measured up to his waist and was curly at the ends. It was obvious he wasn't a light elf, even if Thor hadn't known he was a Vanir who had lived in Asgard for a long time before being sent away by Odin to rule Alfheim.  
>It had taken quite some time and many fights until the elves had accepted him as their king, but his courage and heart had eventually convinced them. Now, a thousand years later, his loyalty seemed to lie with his people and not with Odin anymore and his wary look as he mentioned Thor's father only undermined the Asgardian's opinion although he didn't judge Freyr for it.<br>"I hope to build up my own reputation one day rather than to walk in my father's shadow."

The elf smirked satisfied, then he turned to Loki, placing his hand on the trickster's shoulder.  
>"Loki, it is also nice to meet you again though I am not sure how I should refer to you. Prince of Asgard or Crown Prince of Jotunheim?"<p>

Loki met the king's eyes, his emotions carefully locked behind a wall.  
>"I am afraid I have lost the right to call myself a Prince of Asgard when the Allfather locked me up in a cell. And I have never been the Crown Prince of Jotunheim, they do not even know I am alive. All the Frost Giants know is that their king left me on a rock to die when I was a baby."<p>

The four humans stiffened and looked at him in shock since he had never told them about this little detail. He ignored them to focus on Freyr's answer.

"I should not be surprised that you consider yourself to be an Asgardian since you still hide your true form although you know of your true parentage now. But I would like to understand you. Why are you doing this?"

Loki's eyes briefly flickered to Thor before he answered.  
>"Odin may have rejected my love and let me down in the end, just like Laufey did, but there are still people in Asgard who are precious to me."<p>

Freyr smiled and this time it was full of warmth.  
>"I knew from the moment you entered this room. But it is important to hear it from you, it means you adhere to it."<p>

Loki walked to Thor and took the older one's hand in his own which made Thor look at him in both surprise and love.  
>"I will not deny my feelings for Thor anymore, I have done that for far too long."<p>

Freyr nodded in respect to Loki's vow.  
>"I am surprised Odin has not seen this coming. But he has never been very perceptive about anyone's feelings, that is the reason why he was feared throughout all the realms. It made him a merciless warrior in the time of war."<br>A nostalgic smile appeared on his face and he walked back to his throne, then he turned around again.  
>"Tuor will lead you to the healer's room. There you will find what you came for."<p>

Thor and Loki bowed their heads and the humans quickly imitated the unfamiliar gesture, before they left the hall and followed Tuor. Loki had let go of Thor's hand, but the blond still smiled at his lover. He had never doubted Loki's feelings, but expressing them in front of a king was something Thor hadn't expected so soon. It meant Loki didn't want to hide their relationship in front of strangers, but show them they belonged together now. Thor imagined the shocked faces of all the Asgardians who had wanted to bed him if they had seen their joined hands and he chuckled. Loki looked at him in confusion.  
>"What is so funny?"<p>

"Nothing. It's just...you surprised me back there. Confessing your feelings for everyone to hear. It made me love you even more if that is even possible."

Loki showed him that special smile Thor had discovered just two days ago and gave him a peck on the mouth, before focusing on Tuor's back again. Thor felt his lips tingling and had to bite them to prevent himself from grabbing Loki and kissing him breathless.  
>From the corner of his eye he noticed Steve's bright smile.<br>"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's nice to see how happy he makes you. How happy you make each other. Both of you are so different around the other one, especially Loki. You managed to tear down his walls and bring out the good in him. So, maybe Tuor is right. You could be his path to redemption."

His thoughts warmed Thor's heart and he was at loss of words, staring at Loki's back in front of them.

Tuor opened the door in front of them and they stepped into a large but almost empty room save for a female brunette elf in a simple dark red robe and a familiar man lying on one of the beds.

"He arrived in our forests three days ago though in a different form."

Tony who had approached the bed as the first one smiled.  
>"Let me guess, big, green and angry."<p>

Tuor nodded.  
>„He was lucky that we found him this quickly. A force of dark magic was about to kill him from the inside when our patrol reached him. Our healers sent him into unconsciousness to expel the dark magic without its knowledge, so whoever did this to him will think the magic killed him like it was supposed to do. You have very powerful enemies, it seems."<p>

Thor turned to Loki.  
>"So his only purpose was to infect me? Why?"<p>

"You and these four humans were the only one able to destroy his plan last time, so of course he would want to get rid of him. When he took over your mind in Svartalfheim, he noticed that I am on your side now and he knows I have magic. He probably wanted to kill Bruce as soon as he sensed my magic when I forced him through the portal. He was afraid I would go after the Hulk to free him from the magic. Since the carrier was already in your system, he could get rid of Bruce and the disease would still spread further."

"So Thanos assumes Bruce is dead," said Natasha. "Do you think he knows that Thor isn't under his control anymore?"

"Guess so. If he did not know yet, he would find out as soon as we battle him and Thor fights against his army."

Steve's head shot up at Loki's words.  
>"That's it!"<p>

Everybody looked at him, even Tuor who had not shown any interest in their conversation previously.

"We won't let Thor and Bruce fight with us, at least not from the beginning."

"I will not hide like a coward!" Thor rumbled angrily.  
>He was surprised to see Loki grinning at Steve.<p>

"I have to give you more credit, Captain. It is indeed a great opportunity to surprise Thanos without further endangering one of us."

Tony rose and left Bruce's bedside.  
>"Fine, but what exactly is the plan? We may be able to handle the Chitauri, but we can't just attack Thanos directly, right?"<p>

"Steve just stated that Bruce and I could surprise him, so that will be our task," Thor declared sternly.

"But the Hulk is also a physical fighter, so your hammer is the only weapon that could harm him. And I doubt he will be defeated that easily."

"What are you implying, Tony Stark?" Thor demanded to know, his loud voice filling the room.

Loki knew his lover wouldn't accept what he was about to say, but he had to know.  
>"He has come to the same conclusion like me. I have to be the one to take him on."<p>

Thor's expression turned to shock and Mjölnir who had begun to tremble at his anger, stilled.  
>"No, Loki, we have talked about this. You will not fight him alone!"<p>

"I got that the first time, Thor! I will not fight him alone, but I have to be the leading man."

"I hate to say it, but he is right," commented Clint from his place at Bruce's bed.

Thor ignored his friend, his mind caught between denial and fear.  
>"He is more powerful than you are, Loki. You will get hurt, maybe even killed. I will not let that happen!"<p>

Now it was Loki who gave in to his temper.  
>"And why is it in your power to decide that? You keep sayig you cannot lose me, but did it ever occur to you that I could feel the same?"<br>This turn of their conversation threw Thor off completely and he just stared at his lover who continued.  
>"I have not the strength to let you go either, so yes, I would rather put myself in danger than watching him hurt you. I have as much right as you to care, so do not ever belittle my feelings like that again! We are in this <em>together<em>, so we need to start making decisions _together_!"

It was silent except for Loki's hard breathing and a drop of blood dripping down from his nose, reminding Thor how much trust Loki had already shown him, not only with the binding spell but also with opening his heart to him, exposing his vulnerable side. As much as he couldn't stand the thought of Thanos hurting Loki even further than he already had, his brother was right. It was not something Thor was allowed to decide alone.  
>"Loki, I am sorry. You are right. My concern over your safety and my striving for revenge made me blind. Just promise me you will be careful."<p>

Finally, Loki's face softened again, his cold almost blue eyes melting into a warm green.  
>"I promise I will return to you, my lover."<p>

His vow hang heavy in the air and while it calmed Thor to have confirmation Loki would fight as best as he could, there was again this feeling of something unspoken between them.  
>Before he could ask, Steve had stepped to Loki's right side, touching his shoulder but still facing Thor.<br>"And I promise we will look out for him. Thanos has to go through me first, before he can touch Loki."

"Oh, look at our war hero!" Tony chuckled, approaching Loki's left side. "But I gotta admit he's right, Thor, stop thinking you're the only one who cares about him. He has proven he's not the same Loki we watched attacking Manhattan."

Loki shifted uncomfortably at their declarations, but kept quiet, listening to Clint.  
>"Well, I've never been his biggest fan, but I have to admit, he has shown he's capable of changing. He was the one to find both Thanos and Bruce."<p>

Their loyalty made Thor proud and he smiled for a few moments until suddenly there were dry coughs coming from the tangle of sheets. Everyone hurried to the bed and watched in relief as Bruce slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times.  
>"Oh my god, what happened? My head hurts like I've been having a major hangover."<p>

"Thanos controlled your mind," Natasha explained and helped him sit up.

"Don't tell me I hulked out and destroyed a whole city."

Clint handed him a glass of cold water, grinning wide, "No, you just attacked our two gods here, but as you can see they survived."

Bruce looked Thor and Loki over, content when he couldn't see any injuries.  
>"Where am I anyway? And what happened while I was … not myself?"<p>

Tony patted his back a bit too roughly, making Bruce grimace.  
>"You missed all the action, buddy! To spare you the unnecessary details, Thanos is now the ruler of the Frost Giants in Jotunheim, we'll face him as soon as you've recovered and we're in Alfheim, the world of the elves. You know, the <em>Lord of the Rings<em> creatures with the long hair and the pointy ears?"

"What?" asked Bruce, confused after Tony's recital.

"Oh, and Thor and Loki are together now."

"WHAT?!" Bruce croaked after spitting his swallow of water over the sheets.  
>He stared at Tony as if he was waiting for a joke.<br>"You mean _together_ together?"

"Yep."

Bruce finally looked at the two Norse gods curiously.  
>"Congratulations! At least some good news in all that mess."<p>

They were interrupted by a knock on the door and when they turned around, a servant had entered with a bow, his eyes downcast in respect.  
>"I apologize for disturbing you, but my king demands the princes' presence."<p>

Thor and Loki nodded and followed him, leaving the five humans alone.

Bruce had stared at the servant in fascination and was now exhaling audibly.  
>"This is so weird! I never believed in those fantasy stories and now I see an elf with my own eyes."<p>

"I know," Tony agreed with a grin. "I felt the same. Although we shouldn't be that surprised since we already know the Norse gods exist."  
>He noticed Steve still staring at the door.<br>"What's wrong?"

"I'd like to know what they are talking about."

"They will probably be planning our next move. Thor and Loki know the other realms, so we should leave it to them anyway."


	13. Chapter 13

It was already dark when Thor and Loki entered the room they would sleep in tonight. Like the whole palace, it looked magnificent with its high ceiling and the sandy stone walls. Loki walked to the balcony, his face searching the skies despite the cold air. Thor just stood there and gazed in amazement at his lover's beauty until Loki noticed it and turned to him.  
>"Do you like what you see?"<br>There was an uncertainty underneath all of his confidence.

"You know that I do. Come here."

Loki obeyed and stepped closer to him very slowly, his hands undressing himself with each step. Thor watched him attentively until Loki was naked.  
>Then the raven-haired leaned forward and kissed Thor gingerly, but when Thor tried to deepen the kiss, he pulled away, shaking his head.<br>"No, there is something I need to tell you first."  
>He took Thor's hand and led him to the bed, lying down on his side. After Thor had joined him, their fingers playing with the other one's, he continued.<br>"Tomorrow you need to let me fight with all I got."

Thor sighed, "I know, we talked about that in the healer's room. You will face Thanos, I got that."

Loki's fingers stopped playing with Thor's, his hand gripping the older one's wrist firmly.  
>"Listen to me, Thor, I promised you I will return to you. But I need you to make a vow to me, too. I want you to promise me, you will stay away from that monster, no matter what happens."<p>

"Why are you asking that?" wondered Thor, remembering that his brother had never wanted him to stay out of a fight but always believed in his strength.

"Because I had a vision in Muspelheim."

"When I found you screaming in the shower?"

Loki nodded, trembling at the memory.  
>"You were fighting Thanos and you were losing. He was about to kill you."<p>

Loki closed his eyes when Thor's hand came up to his cheek, stroking him soothingly.  
>"Hey, it was just a vision, this does not have to happen."<p>

"I thought that, too when I had my first vision on Midgard. Then Thanos made you rape me, just like I had seen it."

Sadness filled Thor's heart at the bitter truth in those words.  
>"Loki, why did you allow me to go with you when we separated for the different realms? You looked scared, but you did not say anything. Why?"<p>

Thinking how he could put this into words, Loki finally said, "During that vision I watched you abusing me and it was something I could not combine with your personality. You would never hurt me, so I thought Thanos had put these hallucinations into my mind to weaken my trust in you."

That confession made Thor's heart sink even further.  
>"And I let you down. I did not deserve your trust."<p>

Loki had opened his eyes again, something akin to fury glowing in them.  
>"Stop saying that, Thor! You did not do this, I know that."<p>

"But I did the same thing to you just two nights later. I want you, Loki, your body, your soul, everything, and I know I should be ashamed after all that I have put you through."

As soon as he had finished his thought, he was pushed on his back, Loki sitting on top of him and pinning his arms down with his hands.  
>"Do not compare Thanos raping me to you making love to me, Thor. He has hurt my soul while you have healed it. And tonight I am going to show you my gratitude."<p>

He leaned forward and kissed Thor again, harder this time and hummed contently when he felt him responding. This time Loki had taken the lead, his weight forcing Thor to stay down. Their motions were much slower this time, Loki taking his time to worship his lover's strong body.  
>Thor was not used to not being in control and he had to admit he enjoyed the way Loki began to kiss his neck, his tongue following each muscle fiber of his arm until he reached the fingertips, taking them into his mouth. Thor's cock twitched in approval and Loki grinned, releasing the fingers again.<p>

"So eager for me, darling?"

He chuckled against Thor's skin, then he opened his lover's garment and slid it off his shoulders. Thor's hands immediately reached up and tangled Loki's long strands, keeping him in place when he leaned up for a deep kiss. Desire was radiating off him in waves and Loki's body responded to it, his dick growing hard and brushing Thor's, causing both men to groan in lust.  
>The older one tried to buckle up, but to his surprise Loki didn't let him and pressed him harder into the sheets instead.<p>

"What are you doing?" he asked, a bit upset that Loki didn't let him pick up the pace.

Loki smiled and kissed Thor's furrowed brows lightly, his deep voice sending a shiver down Thor's spine, "I am taking my time, lover. I want to carve every inch of your body into my memory. I want to remember your reactions, your smell, the feel of your skin against mine."

He began to suck at Thor's earlobe, making him gasp at the unexpected touch. There was an undeniable need to love rather than satisfy and Thor was surprised how fine his body was with the trail of Loki's thoughts.  
>How was it even possible that he felt himself arousing even more although Loki continued to do nothing more than kiss him?<br>Loki's hands slid down Thor's sides and stilled at his hips, his mouth letting go of Thor's earlobe and looking to the window with an expression that reminded Thor of a curious kitten.  
>"What is wrong?"<p>

"Can you hear the wind howling?"

At first Thor didn't understand, but then he remembered what they had been missing last night.  
>"Looks like a storm is coming, brother."<p>

A devious smile formed on Loki's face, before his arms came up again and curled around Thor's shoulders.  
>"That means we do not have to be quiet."<p>

And then he flipped their positions rapidly, their cocks accidentally brushing together and both of them moaning at the contact.  
>"Loki, if you keep doing things like that, I will not last another three minutes!"<p>

The raven-haired smiled innocently, his hand pushing back a strand of his lover's blond hair.  
>"Then I should stop, you still need to prepare me after all."<p>

Despite his words he pulled Thor closer by wrapping his long legs around Thor's thighs, causing their erections to rub against each other. They whimpered and Loki was certain he could hear the roll of thunder outside.  
>He started nipping at his lover's jaw, enjoying the feel of Thor's stubble against his lips.<br>"Tell me, brother, how do you want me? Should I get on my knees, so you can take me from behind?"

His words made Thor's cock leaking pre-cum and the god hissed impatiently.  
>"Screw this talented mouth of yours!"<p>

"I can live with that, too," Loki told him with a grin and kissed Thor's lips, parting his own to allow his lover better access.

Thor took the opportunity to explore Loki's mouth with his tongue and map it intently until both of them had to pull away and take a deep breath.  
>Loki's hand firmly wrapped Thor's cock and gave it a teasing stroke which was enough to make him cry out in pleasure and want, but then Loki pushed him up onto his knees and took him into his mouth.<br>The hot, wet hole around his member was almost enough to send him over the edge and his hands grabbed Loki's head tight and forced him to stay in place. The younger one didn't mind the harsh treatment, but took his lover's cock even further in until its head hit the back of his throat and almost made him gag.  
>When Loki's tongue was licking along the shaft, Thor's vision turned white and he was filling his lover's mouth with his seed.<br>Loki swallowed every drop as if he was starving and he milked him empty, then he let himself fall back into the sheets, dragging his shaking brother with him.  
>They lay there for a few minutes and listened to the raging storm outside, Loki's fingers fondling the blond's hair softly.<br>"I love you, Thor. Please do always remember that. You are mine now and I will not let you go anymore."

The confession made the other man smile and he turned until his chin was resting on Loki's pale chest.  
>"I could never leave you, even if I wanted to. I do not have the strength to live without you."<p>

Relief washed through Loki and he kissed Thor's head, "So I am your weakness, oh Mighty Thor?"

Laughing warmly, Thor pushed himself up a bit and looked at him.  
>"You have always been, brother."<p>

Their lips met again and they just kissed for a few more moments, Thor tasting himself on Loki's tongue.  
>When they finally broke apart, Loki pushed his leg up between Thor's, his knee rubbing teasingly against his lover's cock that was already half-hard again.<br>Thor moaned with pleasure and desperately longing for more friction, he rolled his hips, feeling Loki's erection against his stomach. The raven-haired groaned at the contact and buckled up in response.  
>Thor reached out to touch Loki's impossibly hard member, but his hand was smacked away, "No, not yet. Just a little bit longer."<p>

"Loki, you need to– "

"I need you in me first. I want us to come together this time."

Thor stilled in surprise and looked into Loki's beautiful green eyes, searching for any different emotion buried under the love in them.  
>"You are not afraid anymore."<br>It wasn't a question, so Loki didn't answer, but held the eye contact until determination settled on Thor's face.  
>"Turn around, brother!"<p>

Loki obeyed willingly, stretching his body upright, so that he was on his knees when Thor embraced him from behind, one hand coming around his upper body while the other one circled around his balls, stroking them lightly. Loki leaned back against his lover and twisted his head to the side, his lips catching Thor's in a deep kiss.  
>When he felt Thor's cock against his ass, pre-cum began leaking from his own and he pushed back impatiently, causing his brother to chuckle against his mouth, "Look how desperate you are for me, love. But just like you said, I still need to prepare you."<br>Still holding Loki with his arm around his upper body, the other one left his balls and circled around his entrance, before he pushed one of his fingers in.  
>Loki didn't so much as flinch, his tongue still dancing with Thor's for dominance. When Thor added a second finger, Loki's body tensed, but he didn't pull away, so Thor began spreading his fingers, feeling the tension easing much faster than last night, Loki's body still loose and slowly becoming familiar with the intrusion.<br>After a few moments Thor added a third finger and Loki's body jolted up in both pain and pleasure, breaking their passionate kiss and causing the younger to moan loudly. The sound made Thor's blood go south and he knew he could not take any more.  
>"Please, Loki, let me take you now. I promise I will be gentle this time."<p>

Loki opened his eyes again, his pupils blown wide and almost erasing the bright green.  
>"I was afraid you would never ask."<br>He leaned forward, propping himself up on the bed with his hands, grimacing since his lover's fingers were still inside of him.

Thor pulled his fingers out, aware of the whimper that escaped Loki at the loss and gripped his brother's hips, taking a moment to admire the perfect arse in front of him.  
>Just when Loki looked back to him questioningly, Thor placed the head of his cock at the entrance of Loki's body and leaned over his spine.<br>Getting his intention Loki managed to meet his lips in a soft, reassuring kiss and Thor pushed in.

Loki bit down on Thor's lip in surprise, making him still and wait for his brother to adjust.  
>"Are you okay, my love?"<p>

"I am fine. I just need more practice and I am still sore from the first two times."

"I am sorry that-"

Loki silenced him with a peck on the lips, "I did not complain, darling. But if you do not move deeper right now, I will."

Thor did as he was told, the warm flesh around his member almost sending him over the edge. He forced himself to go slow and make it as enjoyable for Loki as possible, but the trickster wasn't very helpful since he pushed back against him, arching his body in impossible angles to take Thor even further in.  
>But after a few thrusts Thor hit his lover's prostate and Loki screamed, pleasure taking him over and then he was seeing stars as his orgasm hit him and he heard Thor groan in surprise as Loki's ass tightened around his cock. Both of them screamed together, when they came, Thor whimpering at the tightness around him and Loki at the feel of his brother's pulsing cock inside of him.<br>Then they both collapsed, Loki on the drenched sheets and Thor on top of him, both gasping from the exhaustion. The blond tried to pull out, but Loki shook his head weakly, "No, let us stay a little bit longer like this, please."

"It is going to hurt if I am doing it later," Thor argued, but pushed his hips down lightly until the tip of his cock hit the soft flesh again and Loki moaned again, the sound going right to Thor's member and he felt himself slowly stirring up again.  
>"If I did not know better, I would suspect you are using your magic to make my body go this mad, but considering how long I have loved you without realizing it, I can understand the need to make up for all the lost years."<p>

Despite the sensation of Thor still being inside of him which simply was too much for his nerves**, **Loki managed to grin, "Come on, Thor, I do not need my magic for that, I still got my looks."

Laughing at the narcissistic comment, Thor started placing feather light kisses along Loki's spine, ignoring his protesting cock that was already preparing itself for the next round.  
>Now that he was once again conscious of their surroundings, he could hear the thunder rumbling outside, but when light bolts brightened the sky, he could see huge snowflakes fluttering down peacefully, just like a metaphor for Loki who had begun to purr under him like a cat.<p>

"I like the sounds that you make, brother."

"Do you want to hear some more?" Loki asked, his eyes shadowed by the barely visible flash of dark green that always accompanied his magic and suddenly the dried cum on his stomach was gone.

"Loki, as much as I would love to make you scream for me again, I simply cannot. You need to rest for the battle tomorrow, because if we continue this, you will not be able to walk for days, I guarantee you that."

"But I could use my magic to heal myself," Loki pouted, making Thor smile again.

"Last night you told me you would never erase me and I believe you. You would rather mask your pain than allowing the reminder of our lovemaking to disappear."

He was right, of course. Sometimes it was a curse how well his brother knew him. Sighing Loki twisted his head to kiss Thor again who was still sprawled out on top of his back.  
>"We have waited so long for this, Thor, can we please just forget the world around us and love each other?"<p>

As an answer Thor began to trace Loki's jawline with his lips while Loki added, "And if it makes you feel any better, the pain would not weaken my magic."

"Why do I even try to act rational around you when you always find the right words to make me give in?"

They smiled at each other, then they kissed again, Loki's tongue asking for entrance which Thor willingly granted, growing hard at the things, Loki did to him. It was different this time since he was still inside of his lover's body who had trouble masking the pain of Thor's member stretching him while growing hard.

"Move now!"

Thor did just that, noting how unwilling Loki's body was to let his cock out and he was forced to stay inside of the trickster, reduced to nothing more than little thrusts that made his erection grow further. But he didn't want to hurt Loki more by battling his way out and Thor began to understand why Loki was insisting on this, it would make him bleed again, mark him as Thor's. Even if nobody else would be able to see it, Loki would still know.  
>It was so much like Loki that Thor managed to laugh while still moving in his lover carefully.<br>"If you wanted me to mark you as my own, there would have been other ways, Loki. Ones that would actually make our love visible for everyone else to see."

Because of the pain, Loki's smile was much more similar to a grimace.  
>"I know. But this way requires much more trust and I want to show you how much I do trust you, brother."<p>

He pushed his ass up, both men groaning as Thor's cock forcefully slid in to the hilt.  
>"I trust you not to betray me like everyone else, I allowed myself to care about you."<p>

He pushed at Thor's chest, so that his member – still rock-hard – was abandoning Loki's sore arse, revealing a thin line of blood that was leaking out of his hole. Thor watched it with an odd expression of both sadness and amusement.  
>"What is it with you and blood, Loki, that you like it so much?"<p>

He didn't really expect an answer and was therefore caught off guard when Loki flipped their positions, Thor now lying on his back and staring up at Loki's graceful silhouette, those green eyes sparkling in the cold moonlight.  
>"Even if my talents do not reside in physical combat, I am still a warrior. That means I am proud of all my battle wounds since whenever they ache, they will remind me of the moment I earned them."<p>

It was a very sentimental but also masochistic thought, reminding Thor once again how much Loki had been through already – and how far they have come. It still made no sense to him how he of all people, was the one Loki was opening his broken heart to.

As if reading his thoughts, Loki continued, "You have always been the one, Thor."  
>There was a dark tone to his voice as the fingers of his right hand were twirling Thor's blond strains absentmindedly while the left one was closing around his lover's cock and gave it a few firm strokes.<br>Thor, still too sensitive for this, couldn't hold back a cry of pleasure, almost missing Loki's next words, "You have always been the one to angle my actions, even if you did not know back then. You always believed I was as strong a warrior as your friends are, so I fought by your side on every occasion."  
>A teasingly slow stroke that made Thor's erection leaking first drops of pre-cum.<br>"You always believed I would become your adviser when you would be crowned king and we would rule Asgard as equals, so when Mother gave me that sceptre, I tried to prove to you that I can be a king as much as you will be one day."  
>His thumb was rolling over the tip of Thor's cock, smearing the pre-cum over his shaft.<br>"You always believed, even after everything I had done, that the brother you grew up with, you loved, was still somewhere inside of this twisted heart of mine, so I never let go of him, even in my worst stage of madness."  
>He let go of Thor's member to lean forward and press their bodies together, his lips catching Thor's roughly and his tongue conquering the older one's mouth possessively.<p>

And Thor responded to it, allowing Loki to control the kiss and showing him that he did indeed love his brother like Loki had just confessed to him.  
>After a few seconds they both pulled back and the longing in Loki's eyes gave Thor the courage to ask.<br>"Can you keep your eyes open and look at me this time?"

"Why?" asked Loki curiously.

"Because I want you to see me and be witness when I am falling apart in your arms, so that you will never have a reason to doubt how much I love you."

There was that warmth in Loki's eyes, Thor had been seeking, and he nodded, so Thor brought his hand up to Loki's chin to hold him in place and then he buckled up, his eager cock finally sliding into that abused hole again, both men groaning in unison. They were still so sensitive that it didn't take them more than a few thrust, until they could feel their climax approaching and they had to use all of their strength not to break the eye contact.  
>When Thor hit Loki's prostate, the raven-haired screamed out loud in pleasure, and the sound send Thor over the edge, too. He wasn't able to see anything other than white, not even being capable to feel Loki's cum on his stomach, and when his mind was finally able to function again, he was aware of Loki under him, apparently having switched their positions, so Thor was now sprawled out over his lover who was stroking his hair affectionately.<br>"I love to see you like this, Thor, it is beyond beautiful."

Exhausted, Thor raised his head so that he could look at Loki whose eyes were a bit dazed, sleep obviously pulling at him, too.  
>"You can see me like this every night from now on if you want to."<p>

A little smile appeared on Loki's face and he pushed Thor's head down to his chest again.  
>"Yes, I would like that."<p>

Thor was so tired he didn't even notice the undertone of sadness in Loki's voice and within seconds, he was asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

The next day saw the arrival of Odin and Surtur, both protected by their guards. Both of them made it very obvious during talks why they were here, Surtur because of his deal with Loki, Odin because of the involvement of his future successor Thor. All the Avengers had been allowed to stay and listen while the three kings and two princes were organizing their combined forces. Every single one of the five friends looked wary and nervous except for Tony, who was just watching out of the window, studying this unfamiliar world intently.

One time just before noon, Steve joined him.  
>"Do you want to stay here all day until it's night and we're heading for Jotunheim?"<p>

"No, it's just … I was just wondering how I got into all of this mess. I am a businessman, for Christ's sake, not a soldier."

Steve stiffened and that's when it hit Tony how his words must have sounded like to this man and he hurried to add. "Wait, I didn't mean it in a bad way! But I was never supposed to be like this, to be some kind of superhero and save the world. Several worlds now to be correct."  
>Steve relaxed and shot him a sympathetic smile.<br>"You know, I was never supposed to be that superhero either."

"Yeah, my dad told me about that, too. How that experiment changed your life."

Steve nodded, he had expected Howard to tell his son this part too.  
>"Has your dad ever told you why I was chosen for that experiment?"<br>Tony shook his head. It had never been a detail, he had considered important, but then again, at that time he had never imagined in his wildest dreams, that he would meet his father's hero in person one day. He looked up into Steve's blue eyes that were observing him, a little smile playing on his lips.  
>"I was a physically pretty weak guy, I was extremely short and suffering from poor health. Still, Dr. Erskine chose me, because he said I had a good heart. Back then, I didn't fully understand the meaning of those words since there surely were other men with a good heart too, but later I got it. I was used to being overlooked, laughed at or even bullied. As long as I remember that, the superpowers that serum gave me, will not corrupt me."<br>He paused, lost in his thoughts and Tony acted on instinct, putting his hand over Steve's gently.  
>"That doctor was right, you know. If there is one person I know that can keep the good in his heart and not let too much power change him, it's you."<p>

Steve met his eyes again, looking at him for a long moment, before finally straightening himself and taking a step back, thereby pulling his hand out of Tony's.  
>"What I originally wanted to tell you with that was that I was never expecting something like this to happen to me either. I never expected to be able to do great things one day, but here I am. Sometimes it's not easy, I know. But we should be grateful we can save people's lifes."<p>

Missing the warmth of Steve's hand under his, Tony turned it into a fist unconsciously.  
>"Yeah, you're right about that. I know I'm complaining like a child that doesn't get his favorite plaything."<p>

Steve smirked.  
>"Actually, that's a very accurate description of yourself, Tony. You can't continue to play with all those suits in your house, that's why you're sitting here doing nothing. But if you want to play with that suit you've got with you now, you should join us and pick your part of the army, before the best ones are taken."<p>

Rolling his eyes at the banter, Tony turned his back on the window and chimed in the discussion, ending up second in command in Loki's group.

~0~

It was sunset when the army - thousands of warriors from Alfheim, Muspelheim and Asgard - was finally assembling at the big square where they would call for Heimdall to let them pass. The keeper had already got used to this in the recent months after Loki had disappeared before showing up on Midgard. Their arrival in Jotunheim would be noticed soon since the Bifröst was too conspicuous for an undetected invasion. Besides, Thanos was probably assuming they would be coming sooner rather than later, so he probably was prepared.  
>Their plan was centering on Loki and his magic that would be more powerful than ever considering he was also drawing power from Surtur and even Freyr, who had volunteered right away since he was also gifted in magic.<p>

Unknown to the others, Loki had made the right suggestions for his allies, to agree to his ideal constellations:  
>Bruce and Thor would stay in the background until they had found Thanos, just like they had discussed for quite some time now. Once Bruce unleashed the Hulk, he wouldn't need any backup, so everyone had agreed to let him fight without a partner.<br>The three kings would lead their respective armies, the Asgardians and the Fire Demons attacking from the front while the Elves would prove their skills with bow and arrow from the sidelines.  
>Tony, Clint, Natasha, Steve and Loki would stay together until the trickster was able to find Thanos, then they'd split, Clint being the needed opposite for Thor's close combat techniques. Loki had made sure both of them would end up together as a reminder for Clint to stay true to his promise and the man had immediately got the hint, judging by the look in his narrowed eyes. The only one with a disadvantage in this fight would be Natasha since she was counting on some body contact, a dangerous method as the Frost Giants could freeze her if she touched them too long. So Thor had paired her up with Steve to watch out for her, even if they hadn't mentioned the reason to anybody.<br>And Loki had been fine with that, because it had left him with Tony Stark, the most reckless member, a trait that was necessary for the one part of Loki's plan, nobody knew about. Initially Thor had offered to go with Loki, obviously to make sure no harm would come to him, but Loki had declined, stating since he and Bruce would join the fight a bit later, it would strip the trickster of the ability to go after Thanos, before they had arrived, the only other possibility going after him alone and that was something Thor would never risk, so in the end he had agreed to the different pairings.

And now Odin was raising Gungnir, his voice loud and clear.  
>"Heimdall, open the Bifröst!"<p>

A beam of multicolored light came down from the sky, sucking the King of Asgard and most of his guards into it immediately, all the other men following close behind.  
>While the line was shrinking, Loki turned to Thor, both knowing this would be the last time before the fight to talk to each other.<br>"Thor, there is something I want you to know."  
>He looked into those stunning blue eyes framed by warm golden strands, unsure how to express his thoughts.<p>

Thor watched his inner struggle, his hand cupping Loki's cheek gingerly.  
>"Yes?"<p>

Enjoying the warmth radiating off the hand, Loki continued.  
>"No matter what happens out there, I will always love you. Everything I will do, I will not do to protect our friends or our realms, but for you. If I had to choose between the safety of all the worlds and yours, I would gladly watch it all burn to the ground."<br>His words, though honest, were not gentle, he knew that, but kindness had never been in his nature, so he did not want to fake it now.

Strangely Thor's eyes lit up at that and Loki was shocked to find fear underneath all the warmth, something he had never seen in his brother's eyes. Even Thor's voice was laced with it when he finally spoke.  
>"Tell me, Loki, how did you manage to hide your love behind a wall of ice when it is more dangerous and destructive than a firestorm? And what did I do to deserve it, to deserve <em>you<em>?"

It was a question that could only be responded to with honesty.  
>"You never let the ice seal it away completely, always managing to melt it, even after we had been separated and I was not in my right mind. Do you remember?"<p>

"Is that why you did not kill me on Stark Tower when you had the chance to? Because I was melting the ice?"

"Because my love for you was melting it, seeking you as it has the centuries before."

Thor smiled, noticing that their time was running out and the others were already waiting for them.  
>"Promise me, you will come back to me! Promise me, you will not let Thanos destroy what we have just gained!"<p>

"I promise."  
>And Loki sealed it with a deep kiss, trying to express all the things that had remained unspoken and then Loki pulled away, turning to the others and when Thor blinked, he was gone. All he and Bruce, who was now standing next to him, could do was wait.<p>

~0~

It was cold and for a moment they could not see anything except for snow. Then Loki realized they were standing in a snow field, a storm raging and no Frost Giant nearby. Or so it seemed. Steve's eyes were searching for any hidden patrols, but without success.  
>Before he knew what he was doing, Loki changed into his Jotun form, surprised and terrified gasps following the action.<p>

Tony looked at him in bewilderment.  
>"What did you just do?"<p>

"You know Jotunheim is the world I was born in, so naturally I am a Frost Giant, just like all the Jotuns are."

"Yeah, I know, it just never really occurred to me, that you probably look that different too. Sorry, didn't expect it."

In his natural form that Loki usually found so uncomfortable, the cold wind felt like a cool summer breeze and he was able to see much further, feeling Natasha nervously staring at his scarlet eyes.  
>The three kings stepped at his sides, Freyr the only one that didn't look offended by his form. Loki could understand why Surtur despised the Frost Giants, since he was the leader of the Fire Giants, meaning they were natural enemies. But Odin had raised him and even if Loki had always known he favored Thor, to see disgust in his eyes now, made Loki hate him even more.<p>

Freyr interrupted his thoughts.  
>"Is it safe or do we have to fear an attack? I feel like being watched."<p>

Loki could feel it too and when he looked around, he could indeed make out a patrol that was just disappearing behind a hill of snow.  
>"You are right, we have just been discovered. And since Thanos probably has expected us to come one day, it should not take long before his army is here."<p>

Odin turned to look at the two other kings.  
>"Then I believe, it is time for me to take the lead since I have the most experience in these lands."<p>

They had already agreed on this and so nobody argued when he marched forward, all the soldiers following him.  
>Suddenly Loki was surrounded by the four humans, as if they wanted to shield him from any surprise attack. Thinking about this, it made sense of course; if any harm came to him, their plan would fail, so keeping him safe as long as possible was their top priority during this mission.<br>For a few minutes they walked like this and Loki's head began to hurt slightly, which had him confused at first, but when it mixed with a cruel joy that wasn't his, he realized what was happening.  
>"Thanos just learned about our arrival," he said aloud, the atmosphere immediately changing.<p>

Everyone was nervous and edgy, even Odin who should have been used to these moments because of all the wars he had fought in.  
>Surtur slowed down a bit to walk next to Steve who was at Loki's left side now.<br>"You can access not only your own magic, but also the one of the Elf King and mine. Why do you not cast Thanos out already?"

It was exactly what he had first thought of when they had begun talking about the plan.  
>"Because as long as he stays in my head, I can feel what he feels if I concentrate enough, especially with my magic amplified and him being so close to me. Also, if I cast him out, he will notice and be more careful which is the last thing we want, am I right?"<p>

Surtur nodded and caught up with Odin again.

That's when Loki noticed the frown on Steve's face.  
>"What is it?"<p>

"I don't like it, Loki. What if you can't cast him out when he's trying to take over? You wouldn't notice it until it's too late."

"I already told you once, do not underestimate me!"

The moment when the god had first said those words came rushing back to Steve and he said the exact same words he had told Loki then.  
>"Expressing feelings doesn't equal weakness, you know that already."<p>

The trickster smiled at the familiar words although he understood their gravity much better now.  
>"Yes, I know. Does that mean you worry about me?"<p>

"I hugged you after you had almost strangled me to death, remember?"

"You hugged me while I was caught up in my vision and vulnerable. I was the one to make you stay when I was myself again if I recall correctly."

Steve was already opening his mouth to argue back when Tony sighed in frustration from Loki's other side.  
>"Jesus, you two are killing me!"<p>

Both men frowned at him, but decided to let it go and Steve changed the topic.  
>"So what's gonna happen when this is over? We'll separate again and never see each other until there's a new threat to our world?"<p>

Loki could hear the hidden sadness in his voice and smiled wickedly.  
>"You know, I am the God of Mischief, so I could come up with something…"<p>

Both men laughed warmly, but their mood had brightened a bit at his suggestion. There was obviously something arising between the two of them, a new step to their friendship that would change it to something even more beautiful.  
>It made Loki hate himself even more for what he was about to do, but even if he wanted to, he couldn't change who he was, how he felt. Thor's happiness was more important to him than anything else.<p>

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted when Odin stopped and with him the whole army.  
>At the other side of the big snow field, they were standing in, was another army, consisting of Frost Giants and Chitauri. One of the latter, obviously a leading figure, was awaiting them in the middle of the field.<br>Odin, Freyr and Surtur indicated for their warriors to wait, then they walked to the creature, a dozen of guards following them.  
>Knowing there would be no negotiations anyway, Loki barely paid attention to them, his gaze wandering over the hostile army.<p>

Clint was stepping closer to him.  
>"Why are you not joining them?"<p>

"Because I am supposed to find Thanos. They are giving me some time to do that, before the fight begins and ... how do you humans call it? All hell breaks loose?"

"But you are one of those Frost Giants, the only one with a rightful claim to the throne. Why don't you show yourself to them?"

"Think about it! Let us assume for a moment that I did and they would turn their back on Thanos, what would happen? He would run and hide again until he had found someone new to do his dirty work and all would start anew. We might never get a chance like this to end this madness, once and for all." H  
>e knew why Clint was worried: The human rightfully suspected Loki had a plan and since he hadn't told anyone, there was a catch or at least some danger.<br>Just when the kings turned away from the Chitauri they had talked to, an alarm was ringing off in Loki's head.  
>"He is here."<p>

The humans and even the warriors that had heard him, turned to look at him, nobody asking for a name since there was only one person, he could be referring to. And then Loki heard a voice, he had never wanted to hear again, in his head.

_I missed you, little pet._

Loki began to tremble, buried memories of pain, violence and blood rising to the surface. He could feel Steve gripping his arm and calling his name, but the voice continued and Loki could not make it stop.

_I missed the sound of your screams when I skinned you alive._

Loki whimpered and he could hear more worried voices, more hands touching him and it blended with his memories of hands hurting him until his body was shutting down. He was not seeing the humans, he was seeing Thanos and just when the air around Loki filled with the electrifying energy of his magic, making the humans step back from him, a sudden heat was erupting from deep within Loki and he could breathe again, forcing back the images of the past and with it his anxiety. It was not the doing of his magic, because Loki knew how that felt, so much more powerful but yet so much less at the same time.  
>And then he recognized it for what is was. Thor - obviously feeling his panic through the binding spell - was telling him to calm down and Loki's body obeyed, as did his mind. Thanos seemed to notice the change, too.<p>

_What is it that protects you? You are mine and you would do well to remember that. Show it to me again, all those things that I did to you, I want to see you breaking again._

Another shudder was the only reaction from Loki, who was grateful about the binding spell's power for once. But Steve had been right, it was obvious that Loki couldn't expel Thanos, once he had taken over. He had to do it now, even if it meant they would lose their advantage of knowing his thoughts. They needed to take that risk, especially because of the fact that with all the magic now stuffed inside of Loki, he was a ticking time bomb and not allowed to lose control.

_Do you really think you can stand up against me, defeat me? After the countless times I have broken you and made you plead? How pathetic._

The first row of Chitauri parted and Loki's legs almost gave out when he saw Thanos stepping to the front.  
>Tony's arm wrapped around his waist, steadying him and as Loki was trembling violently again, Tony raised his voice.<br>"Hey Heimdall, now would be a good time for some backup!"

And with a roar the Bifröst opened again, Thor landing securely with Mjölnir already in his hand while Bruce followed rather uncomfortably.

Then the chaos began, the warriors of Muspelheim, Alfheim and Asgard being the first ones to start running over the snow, meeting their opponents in the middle.  
>Natasha and Steve left Loki's side, their group of warriors - all from Asgard – accompanying them. Clint stayed when he saw Thor already running to them, his face worried.<p>

"Loki, what happened? I could feel your fear through the spell. I thought you had got hurt."

Loki let go of Tony to stand on his own feet now.  
>"I am fine. I simply had an emotional encounter with my memories when Thanos started talking inside my head."<p>

Thor looked alarmed now, but since the first enemies were not too far away, he could not go into detail like he had wanted to. He gripped Mjölnir tighter and shot him a warm smile.  
>"Before this gets messier, let me just tell you that you look beautiful in this form, my love."<br>From his side Loki could feel Tony rolling his eyes, but not interrupting them. Thor raised his hammer.  
>"I will trace these mysterious lines on your skin, one by one, until I can see them in my sleep. I promise."<br>And then he flew off, causing his supposed partner Clint to curse, before motioning to follow Thor on the ground.

Loki also began to run forward, not even bothering to see Tony putting on the suit, he had carried with him in something that looked like a suitcase. He was barely registering Clint beside him, whose arrows were already flying through the bodies of everyone who tried to attack them. While throwing his knives into the chests of the Chitauri soldiers, Loki noticed that all the Frost Giants that came near enough to get a proper look at him, were stopping a few feet away, staring at his blue skin and the pair of red eyes as if they expected him to vanish like one of his illusions.  
>The confusion was so apparent, Loki wanted to tell them right away who he was, but he needed to get to Thanos first. Which shouldn't take that long as he had already told Loki, he wanted to see him break again. The trickster carefully kept his distance from the Hulk, although he knew that the green creature could indeed tell friend from foe. But in his Jotun form, Loki didn't want to test the limits.<br>In the air above him, Tony was firing shots down onto the Chitauri, always keeping himself near Loki.

_Did you think a fight would distract me? That your human friends could protect you? Or your master?_

Loki turned around to see Thanos stepping closer, a triumphant grin on his face and although Loki could feel his mind struggling to reject the upcoming memories, he still had the strength to say in a calm voice, "He is not my master!"

Thanos stopped right in front of him and Loki noticed a magical barrier around them, keeping all the others out, much to Tony's worry who watched them from above. Thor landed next to him, fear visible in his eyes as he realized his worst nightmare had become true; Loki was facing that monster alone.

Thanos chuckled at Loki's response.  
>"I could feel the binding spell breaking our connection and I have seen the way he looks at you. I was not sure if you are under his spell or if he is under yours, but then I thought, if you were the one in control, you would have never allowed him to get this close to me, especially with the knowledge of what I am capable of."<p>

He turned to the side when he heard Thor gritting his teeth in frustration, his hand with Mjölnir shaking hard in an attempt to stay calm. Loki wanted to soothe him, to tell him it was going to be alright, but he couldn't. It was a lie and Thor would know. So he didn't react, forcing himself not to panic.

Thanos turned to him again.  
>"Oh, I see, he loves you. Now that is an interesting twist to our situation."<br>He took the last step that divided him from Loki and brought up his hand to the raven-haired's blue chin, gripping it firmly.

Mjölnir was raging now and even if Thor had wanted to, he couldn't have prevented her from trying to smash the magical wall, although it was to no avail.  
>Loki had to close his eyes, adrenaline the only thing that kept him from a breakdown, as that hand touched his skin again, and he expected it to scratch his skin off like all those times before.<p>

He whined when Thanos' fingernails dug into his jaw, drawing blood and giving him a taste of what was to come.

The sound of thunder filled the air, louder than Loki had ever heard before and when he opened his eyes again, he could see Thor at the side, rage in his eyes and lightning surrounding him.  
>"Hurt him again and I will kill you, Thanos!"<p>

That seemed to stimulate the Titan even more and he lifted Loki up into the air and threw him across their limited space into the barrier. When Loki came in contact with it, a flash of pain shot through his body, making him scream.

Thanos laughed satisfied.  
>"Yes, that is much better."<p>

Loki tried to get on his feet, Thor cowering next to him, the barrier the only thing between them.  
>"Please Loki, your magic is no match to his strength, just break that wall and let us do this together."<p>

Loki wanted so much to do as he said, but it would mean bringing everyone else, including his lover in danger, and he couldn't risk that, so he shook his head.  
>"No, Thor. I have my plan and I will stick to it."<p>

Listening to their conversation, Thanos grinned again.  
>"A plan? How thoughtful yet stupid. Tell me, pet, what is your big plan to defeat me? I am stronger than you, not even the power of your magic is enough to kill me."<p>

Loki didn't respond, noticing their time was running out. He had to do it now. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated, gathering his own magic and what he had taken from Freyr and Surtur. The air around him was filling with so much energy that even the humans were able to feel it. Thanos just waited, too curious for what Loki was doing to stop him. He had nothing to fear, Loki had not managed to defeat him at their first encounter and he would not be able to do so now.

Even the other warriors had all stopped fighting to watch the two, the Frost Giants both unsure and confused upon seeing one of their own at the opponents' side. And then Loki's scarlet eyes flashed green, not only filling the iris but the whole eye and all the energy erupted from him, destroying the barrier and sending all the people around them flying to the ground.

Thanos growled in anger, but Tony, Thor and Clint were already running to Loki who had stumbled to the ground and was now shaking violently, his eyes still emerald green.

"What is wrong with him?" shouted Thor, his voice rumbling so loud when he cradled his lover in his arms that Tony and Clint didn't even dare to touch the trickster.

Thanos looked as confused as all of them felt, the only thing he was certain of was that this was the doing of Loki's own magic, but it didn't make sense. Why would he hurt himself? Frowning Thanos tried to delve into Loki's mind, only to find out that he couldn't. He could feel Loki's _seiðr_ building up a wall of its own inside the trickster's mind and growing stronger with each passing second.  
>"But where is the power source?" Thanos wondered aloud, staring at Loki's shaking body in Thor's arms, the blond gasping as if he was feeling something too.<br>Then Thanos realized what Loki was doing.  
>"No!"<br>He rushed forward, a ball of energy already forming in his hands to separate the two now very vulnerable gods, but he was suddenly thrown to the ground by something tiny though solid.

When he stood up again, Steve was standing behind him, catching his shield.  
>"Bad move, Thanos."<br>Steve ran up to him and when Natasha and the Hulk joined their friend, Thanos was quite busy fighting them off, his mind racing as he knew he had only moments before Loki would succeed in what he was doing.

Meanwhile the raven-haired tried to lock eyes with his lover, the energy of their bond pulsing through him.  
>Thor was still cradling him, worry and fear written over his face.<br>"Loki, what is happening to you? Tell me!"

Loki shuddered at the harsh tone which sent a familiar urge up his spine, but its power was fading quickly and he managed to remain quiet.  
>Tony and Thor were too worried to notice what was happening, but Clint did.<br>"I thought he is bound to you. Should he not be forced to answer you?"

"You are right" Thor wondered confusedly and there was that unsettling feeling in the back of his mind that he was missing something important.

Loki's body began to shake again as he was coughing up a dangerous amount of blood, the green spark fading from his eyes, indicating he had finished whatever spell he had been performing.  
>"I am sorry, brother."<p>

His words were barely identifiable with his mouth full of blood. Still, they sounded like a farewell and Thor was beyond terrified now.  
>"Loki, what did you do?"<p>

But his lover just smiled sadly while blood trickled out of his ears and into his hair. And then Loki brought his hands up to Thor's face and pulled him down into a kiss. Thor didn't resist - how could he ever? - despite the iron taste of Loki's blood as his lover's tongue slid in. There was something desperate about it and Thor was reminded of their first night together.  
>Back then, Loki had kissed him similarly to now, longing for his love to memorize it forever. Thor had understood this need after everything Loki had been through, after all the times he had been let down, both by Odin and his brother.<br>But it didn't make sense now, there was no need to -

Something hit Thor hard and broke the kiss as he tumbled to the side.

Thanos was over him, holding him down with ease.  
>"I am surprised he lets you touch him after all you did to him. After you abused him."<p>

Thor stopped struggling against the creature, buried guilt welling up inside of him.

Thanos smirked and with a twist of his hand, his magic sent Tony and Clint flying against a rock, knocking the archer unconscious. Thanos' grip around Thor's throat tightened.  
>"Do not tell me you did not enjoy this. Making your little brother bend to your desire, to take him while he was screaming."<p>

There was a flicker in Thanos' eyes and suddenly Thor remembered.

_He caught Loki's wrists in his hands and forced him back to the ground, pinning the body down with his own... _  
><em>...a grin was spreading his face as he pushed into Loki, making him cry out at the sudden intrusion... <em>  
><em>...he was thrusting in and out with more force, making Loki bleed... <em>  
><em>...Loki was screaming under him in agony, his body arching up against Thor's... <em>  
><em>...and then he came while his brother's screaming subsided to quiet sobs...<em>

"No."  
>Thor's voice was emotionless, his face drained of color, his body trembling as he tried to reject the scenes. It was so much worse to see and feel them now than when Loki had just told him about it.<br>"What have I done?"

Thanos laughed.  
>"When I took you over, I was surprised by all that desire for your brother, that longing. I did not have to do much, just give you a push into the right direction. Tell me, did it satisfy you to break him?"<p>

Thor turned his gaze to the side, looking at Loki who was still struggling to get up and coughing up blood that had formed a puddle around him.  
>Thanos seemed to take it as a sign of weakness.<br>"You are the only person he is emotionally attached to this much, that is why it took this little to break him. Considering the amount of time and creativity it took me to defeat his strong will, you could be of use for me. Join me and you can have him in every way you want, bleeding, screaming, begging for mercy."

His words made Thor sick as he continued to look at the beautiful creature that was Loki. He turned to Thanos again, almost spitting his words at him.  
>"I already have him like I want him to be. As my lover and my equal."<p>

There was a pause before Thanos gritted his teeth in anger, obviously not having expected this. He let go of Thor and stood up.  
>"Then you are a fool."<br>He drew his sword and before Thor was even able to stretch out his hand for Mjölnir who was still lying at Loki's side, the sharp blade dug into his skin and he couldn't hold back a scream.

~0~

The sound of his lover's pained voice finally brought Loki back to reality. He could feel Tony's arm at his back as he sat up, the coughing subsiding slowly. Loki turned and saw Thanos and a few other Chitauri standing over Thor who lay on the ground with a deep bleeding wound at his stomach. Thanos' deep voice was whispering to his brother in victory and although Loki could not make out a single word from this distance, the picture blended with his latest vision in Muspelheim, the words still fresh in his memory:  
>"I have given you the opportunity to join me. It did not have to end like this."<br>And Thanos' hand came down to grab Thor's wrist and twist it the wrong way, causing the god to cry out in pain.

Loki had feared this moment, but the vision had given him the opportunity to set up his plan. He stood up and when he spoke, the magic amplified his voice so everyone could hear him.  
>"This war will end now, there is no reason for my people to fight."<p>

The Frost Giants looked at him, one of them snarling, "Who do you think you are to command us?"

"I am Loki, Laufey's son. The rightful heir to the throne."

There was silence, shocked faces turning to each other and whispering.

Thanos frowned as he noticed his control over the situation was slipping out of his hands.  
>"You are a liar."<p>

Loki approached the Frost Giants as he responded to Thanos.  
>"Yes, but occasionally I speak the truth, just like I do now. All of you know who I am. Loki, prince of Asgard, but tell me, do I look Asgardian to you?"<p>

The commander of the Frost Giants eyed him carefully, a silent consent for him to go on.  
>"How do we know this is not one of your tricks? They say you are gifted in magic, where is the proof that your appearance is real?"<p>

Loki stopped in front of him and he touched his bare shoulder, letting him feel his equally cold body temperature.  
>"Look at me and tell me how could I fake this?"<p>

The commander gasped when he obeyed and took a closer look at Loki's face.  
>"The symbols on your skin! They are the ones of Laufey's house!"<p>

A murmur went through the Frost Giants that had heard him and even Thanos was surprised.

The commander shook his head in confusion.  
>"How is this possible? Laufey's son died in the Great War against Asgard."<p>

Loki blinked but didn't show any other reaction otherwise since the sting of rejection and denial was already familiar to him by now.  
>"Is that what he told you? That his runt of a son was killed by the Asgardians? Perhaps he really thought that. But here I am, still alive and breathing to claim my birth right as King of Jotunheim."<p>

Utter silence followed his declaration, not even Thanos broke it. After what felt like an eternity, the Frost Giants moved into gear, all of them bowing their heads to Loki who was more surprised than he should be. He had been prepared to fight for his right, but it seemed his people were in desperate need of a king to guide them. It made sense now why Thanos had been able to win them over this easily.

Finally Thanos spoke up again.  
>"What are you doing, you fools? Giving the throne to someone who was raised in the midst of your archenemies."<p>

The commander of the Frost Giants looked at him in determination.  
>"He is Laufey's son and therefore it has been his throne all along."<p>

Thanos groaned, but Loki stepped forward.  
>"Your problem, Thanos, is that you lack loyalty. You have turned your back on everyone including your family, so you underestimate its power. Believe me I know."<p>

"Who are you to talk? You did the same."

"When I was under your control, yes. But my prior actions were driven by loyalty. When the Allfather fell into the Odinsleep, I wanted to make him and Mother proud, I wanted to show them that I am a worthy son. I misplaced my trust in the man I called my father, I realized that when he repulsed my deeds. But I still value the virtue of loyalty, because it is the reason I am still alive. My mother and Thor did not turn their backs on me, even after I have given them every reason to. Odin would have sentenced me to death long ago if it was not for them."  
>Loki was aware that every pair of eyes lingered on him while he spoke.<p>

The Chitauri were getting anxious, waiting for Thanos to give them any orders, but the Titan just stepped closer until he and Loki were mere inches apart.

The Frost Giants jerked, but Loki raised his hand to calm them. He needed to do this alone.

"Loyalty makes you weak."

"If that was so, then why do you not strike me down right where I am standing?"  
>From the corner of his eye he could see Thor wincing at his words, Clint's hand on his shoulder the only thing holding him back. Loki continued, "You know you cannot harm me now, because the Frost Giants and humans are loyal to me and the fight would erupt anew, but this time with an unequal balance of power."<p>

A cruel smile was playing on Thanos' lips.  
>"So you think you are safe from me? My power is beyond anything you have ever seen and it will be my pleasure to prove it to you."<br>There was a sudden glimmer in his eyes and then energy left his body, creating a ring around him, Loki and everyone in a radius of ten feet which included two Frost Giants and Tony.

That was exactly what Loki had been waiting for. He grinned humorlessly and turned to the Frost Giants. A glimmer of green flickered over his eyes and both jerked, their eyes unfocused as if they were witnessing somebody nobody else could see. Even if Thor wasn't able to see it either, he could tell from their expressions it was something that confused them as they stared at their king with wide eyes.

Loki's voice was determent.  
>"Kill him! Now!"<p>

Thanos raised his hand, but to everyone's surprise the two Frost Giants didn't attack him, but left the circle and approached Natasha and Steve.

"No!" the other Avengers shouted, the Hulk's roar drowning their voices and instinctively they all jumped forward, only to be thrown back by the magical circle they had forgotten about.

Since he was already in it, Tony was the only one who reached Steve who was fighting off one of his attackers, Natasha busy with the other one. When their friends had finally rounded the circle to aid them, Loki interrupted the fight.

"That is enough."

The two Frost Giants obeyed and let go of the Avengers who turned to the trickster, Steve voicing their thoughts, "What was that about?"

He didn't answer, his expression stern and he looked at Thanos again.

And then Clint was the one to realize what was going on and he froze in shock.  
>"Oh my God!"<p>

Everyone including the Frost Giants and the nearby Chitauri who felt useless now, looked at him. He took a step forward, desperation on his face as he pleaded to the god,  
>"Loki, stop it! You can't be serious about this!"<p>

Thor was beyond alarmed now and he gripped Clint's shoulder tightly.  
>"What are you talking about? What is the meaning of this?"<p>

"He made them attack Steve to get rid of Tony."

"Why would he -", Thor stilled when Loki's behavior made sense to him.  
>Now that Tony was out of the circle, no one was able to prevent him from taking on Thanos alone. His mind was racing and he shouted.<br>"Please, Brother, you do not have to do this! We are stronger together."

Loki met his eyes and his expression softened, but there was utter sadness in his eyes.  
>"I know. But there's also the risk that you might get hurt and I can't bear the thought of that. I had hoped, we could pull through all of this, there would be a future for us and even when I made up my plan, I still held on to this illusion. But it was a dream and I should have never allowed myself to be lured in by it, for it will hurt even more now with the knowledge that I once had your love."<p>

Thor shook his head as he tried to grasp Loki's point, noticing how much this sounded like a farewell.  
>"Loki, you are scaring me. Are you regretting your decision to allow yourself to love me?"<p>

There was a little, honest smile on Loki's face and tears escaped his eyes.  
>"I could never regret this, regret loving you. Our love has been the best thing I had in my whole life, but it makes us vulnerable. Giving yourself permission to love also means you are giving yourself permission to get hurt, believe me, I know. I realized that when Odin rejected me, but I thought it was different with you, Thor, and in a way it was."<p>

"I do not understand, what have I done wrong?"

"Nothing. In fact, you did everything right. You broke the walls I hid behind for all those years, you have shown me the amount of love I am holding inside and that every drop belongs to you."

Thor was panicking now.  
>"Then why can you not give in to this feeling and let me love you for the rest of our lives?"<p>

"Because opening my heart to you has shown me that nothing is more important to me than you. And that I will lose you in the end, like I am losing everything I care about. But not this time. I will not watch you die, not as long as I still have a breath of life in me. I will keep you safe, even if it means I cannot have the love I crave."

"You will not lose me, I have no intention to get myself killed anytime soon."

"Do you not see my point, my love? I am doomed to be hurt everytime I allow myself to love, be it by betrayal or death. You and me … we would die for each other without second thought. I could not bear the guilt I would feel if you died for me, Thor. Could you?"

The blond didn't respond, because as much as he wanted to snap Loki out of his thoughts, it still was true.

"And if I died for you, you would never be the same, the pain would consume you."

"I watched you fall to death before. At least that was what I thought back then."

"Yes, but you did not know the extent of our love for each other. I may have buried my true feelings for you at that time, but at least I knew them while you had not even discovered them yet. It was safer for you to feel that way and you should return to it."

Thor shook his head in denial.  
>"I cannot do that, not after I have realized how much I love you. And I do not want to. Loki, I know what you are doing, you are trying to push me away, because I have got so close that I can see who you really are. You are afraid, I will leave you and that you will end up hurt again, that is why you are building up these walls again, right?"<p>

There was bitterness in Loki's tone.  
>"You cannot possibly like what you will be seeing, Thor. I am broken, I am twisted, I am corrupted. There is nothing left that is worthy of your love and when the time comes that you realize this, you will leave me and I cannot even blame you for it."<p>

"Do not talk like this! Loki, please, I am begging you, let my love heal you. I know it will take a long time and it will not be easy, but we can do this, together."

"I know we could, my lover. You have already begun to pick up the pieces and make me whole again and I want nothing more than to let you spend the rest of your existence doing it, but I cannot give in to my desire if I want to keep you safe. I have made many enemies and sooner or later they will realize how much you mean to me and they will hurt you in order to hurt me. I would rather continue to bear my own misery than live with the knowledge that I have been the reason for your doom."

Never would Thor have imagined that a confession of love could hurt like this did. Considering everything Loki had been through, he could understand his fear, but Thor was not prepared to let it destroy what they were having.

But apparently Thanos had had enough of their talk.  
>"As much as his entertains me, I have not come to hear it but to make you suffer, little pet. When I saw your bond, I figured the best way would be to hurt your lover, but I am curious. What makes you think you could stand a chance against me?"<p>

The trickster's hard face gave way to a victorious smile.  
>"I have gained more power, enough to defeat you even if I cannot kill you."<p>

"Do you think me so dumb not to consider what an alliance with the Kings of Muspelheim and Alfheim means? That I would not notice how you lent their power?"

The Avengers stiffened as they heard that Thanos already knew their plan, but Loki didn't seem impressed.  
>"Their magic combined with my own will be enough to open a tear in the time-space-continuum but no, I had not counted on it to fool you, Monster!"<br>His eyes glanced to the side, meeting Thor's again as he continued to talk to his enemy.  
>"You should have listened better to our conversation. I love Thor with all my heart. You always underestimate the power of love. It can either bring destruction or recovery upon someone and both parties have a part in my sudden gain of power."<p>

Thanos laughed coldly.  
>"How bittersweet a speech this was. Now, please, tell me how did love give you anything aside from pain?"<p>

Thor winced at the truth in those words, exactly this was the problem he and Loki needed to overcome, his fear of what love was capable of.

But Loki's gaze trailed off into the distance.  
>"Until a week ago, I would have agreed with you. All love did to me was make me suffer, but Thor made me believe in I again, that there was a way for me to be redeemed. What I am about to do will not be enough, I know that, but at least I can prove to myself that there is still hope for my soul as long as I love Thor."<br>He didn't break his eye contact with his brother when he tensed and there was a flash of green visible in his eyes. Energy was lightning from his body, very similar to Mjölnir when Thor raised her just before he would strike his enemies down. The green bolts thrashed around in Thanos' ring of magic for a few seconds, like a caged animal that was desperately trying to break free, then there was an explosion of light, the sound almost deafening to all ears, and the circle was broken, the exposed magic sending the Chitauri, Frost Giants and Avengers flying several metres through the air, before they hit the ground hard, the humans except for Steve losing their consciousness immediately.

Thor and the Hulk were the only ones who cold still stand up after that while Thanos snarled angrily.  
>"What illusion of yours is this, trickster? No one could hold that much power."<p>

Sparkles of green were still surrounding the raven-haired, a strong wind that had emerged from within him breezing though the strains of his hair and when he spoke, his voice was pervaded with power.  
>"Right now I can even though not for long. Surtur and Freyr were right, the power to defeat you was already inside of me, I just needed to find a way to access it."<p>

Thor turned around to the three kings who were stepping to his side, still doing nothing more than observing the scene. While Odin's face was stern, the other two men had a knowing smirk on their faces.

The Thunder God turned back to Loki who added.  
>"Did you think by breaking the binding spell, it would have just vanished into thin air?"<p>

Now there was understanding in Thanos' eyes although it did nothing to soften his features.  
>"Ah, so you absorbed it? Not bad, I have to give you that much credit, but how did you do it anyway? I have never heard of a way to break it."<p>

"In the past the spell was cast to bend the slaves' wills to their masters, either to defend their lives by every sacrifice that needed to be done or to please their desires. It has made us forget its initial purpose: It used to be the sorcerer's way of marriage, to tie a soul to its loved one's. Both sides had to perform it, but over the course of time its meaning was twisted until it was used as a punishment. It originally was a gift to the bridal couple, allowing them to feel the other's discomfort, even when they were separated and using it to save the other's life."

And finally Thor understood what Loki was talking about.  
>"You never broke the binding spell, you gave yourself over to it."<p>

Loki rewarded him with an honest smile.  
>"Yes. Those slaves became broken by the spell, because they held no affection for their masters, their hate towards them only grew. I, on the other hand, love Thor with all my heart and it only intensified as did this bond. My will may have been tied to his, but not any longer."<p>

"And why is that?" snarled Thanos angrily.

Loki's face hardened again, his blue skin changing into his pale Asgardian one, scarlet eyes turning a bluish green. Oddly enough, he looked even more menacing like this, especially with that look in his eyes that screamed revenge.  
>"Because you pose a threat for my lover's life and the bond and I will not let that happen, as long as there is a breath of life left in me."<br>There was a cruel smile on Loki's lips as a stream of energy left his body and whirled at a spot over his head.

When Thanos realized what he was doing, he jumped forward, but someone collided with him and suddenly he was in a fight with the Thunder God.  
>The three kings, Steve and the Hulk tried to help him, but the Chitauri got in their way, building a barrier between them and the Titan. Thor noticed that Thanos was a lot stronger than him and when he was thrown into the dirt again, holding up Mjölnir to block his opponent's attack, he was sure this would be his last battle. But then the Titan stopped in his tracks and something invisible was pulling him back slowly and before Thor was able to comprehend the situation, there was a slender body crouching down next to him and pale hands pushing the blond man back at his lover's chest, a voice echoing words in a long forgotten language.<p>

Thanos howled in fury, throwing energy balls at the two gods, but Thor felt his arm with the hammer being raised and he couldn't tell anymore if it was his own reflex, Loki's magic or Mjölnir's doing herself.  
>It blocked the energy, but every blow pushed Thor and Loki back further until suddenly there was a roar and something green hit Thanos from the side.<br>To their surprise it was the Hulk.

"Get off of me, you pathetic creature!"

It took him mere seconds to push him away with a burst of his magic, but it had been enough time for Loki to end the spell. In a mix of green and gold a circle emerged around the two gods, as well as one around each of the Avengers.  
>Above them, at the exact spot where Loki had channeled his magic, a tear opened and grew as it began to suck the first warriors into it.<p>

Thor watched in confusion as the hole swallowed Frost Giants, Chitauri, Fire Giants, Light Elves and Asgardians alike.  
>"What are you doing?!"<p>

Loki smirked at him, his emerald eyes sparkling brighter with the use of magic.  
>"Do not worry, the spell sends all of them to the realm they have been born in, but does not harm them otherwise. But I am sure the Titans will hurt their new guest, once they have recognized him."<p>

Remembering they had discussed this previously, Thor watched in fascination how all of the soldier's got swallowed while creatures with magic like the Light Elves and the three kings as well as Thanos were able to stand their ground longer. The circles around Thor, Loki and the humans shielded them and for a brief moment Thor wondered why his brother did no effort to protect the kings as well, especially since two of them had lent him their magic, but then the sucking intensified as the winds got stronger and Loki began to tremble. Thor quickly came to his feet and his arms came around the slender frame to keep the raven-haired up.  
>The rest of the Light Elves and Odin disappeared in the hole while Freyr and Surtur got lifted into the air.<p>

Freyr turned to the two gods.  
>"Loki, you can do this! This is for the best and you know that!"<br>Then he was gone as well, quickly followed by Surtur.

But with his magic Thanos had still been able to stay at the ground and Loki hadn't really expected anything else. He had known all along it wouldn't be the power boost of Surtur's and Freyr's magic that would give him the strength to end this, but his own _seiðr_, combined with the binding spell.  
>He leaned back against the muscular body of his lover and whispered.<br>"Thor, I cannot do this without you."

For a moment Thor didn't understand, but then he realized that without his consent, the bond of the binding spell wouldn't be severed completely and Loki wasn't able to access its full power yet. So Loki had counted on him all along and the knowledge that for once, Loki had his plan based on his trust in somebody else, made Thor repress his fears of what Loki had told him just a few minutes ago, because they could work this out later.  
>He gripped Loki's hip tighter to turn him around in his arms and their lips met in a kiss.<p>

Loki opened his mouth and let Thor's tongue slide inside and for a moment Loki was tempted to discard the last detail of his plan, wanting nothing more than to stay here and kiss his lover for all eternity. But it was a dream and he had allowed himself to be blinded by its beauty for too long already. He needed to keep Thor from harm and this was an impossible task as long as he was in a relationship with him. Loki felt the bond responding to his desperate wish to keep his other half safe and when it was met with no resistance from Thor, its _seiðr_ left the Thunder God's body and entered Loki's.  
>To have all of its power within him was almost too much for him to take and he pushed Thor back as gently as he could while he tried gain control over it.<p>

Thor allowed this, noticing only then that there was a fear in him, he couldn't quite place his finger on yet. Loki must have soothed him through the bond and Thor was confused why he had done so since his instincts had rarely fooled him in prior battles. It only added to the nagging feeling that he had missed something important in Loki's plan and there was something terribly wrong here.  
>But his thoughts were interrupted when Loki calmed a bit, his eyes focusing again and then the hole grew once more.<p>

Thanos yelped in surprise when he was dragged forward.  
>"No, this is not possible! Stop it now, I am-"<p>

But then he was sucked into the hole and Loki let out a relieved sigh, his body relaxing and the tear sealed itself while the protection circles were fading.  
>Loki's head was throbbing from the dangerous amount of power, but he didn't let go of it yet, because he was not finished and he couldn't allow the binding spell to rebuild his bond with Thor.<p>

"You did it, Loki."  
>A moment later Thor was rocking him in his arms, burying his face in the crook of Loki's neck and his voice softer than what should be expected from the Thunder God.<br>"I was afraid you would be doing something stupid and get hurt. That I would lose you again."

Loki relaxed into the embrace and breathed in Thor's scent that reminded him of corn fields in the summer sun, making him close his eyes.  
>He didn't know if they had been staying like this for a few minutes or hours, but then he was aware of eyes watching them, so he opened his own.<p>

The Hulk had changed back into a half naked Bruce who looked at them as if he was unsure whether to interrupt them or not.  
>Steve was standing at his side, a small smile on his lips and again, Loki couldn't help but think that they would have been able to become good friends. But this was a sentiment he needed to push away, because fate was cruel and he couldn't allow himself to wonder what could have been, it would only make this worse.<br>Finally Loki pulled back and the two humans took this as a sign to approach them and Loki shouldn't have been surprised that Steve was pulling him into a firm hug again, though more manly than his previous one with Thor.

"You did great, Loki," was all Steve said, but it was enough to form a lump in Loki's throat, because he wasn't used to being complimented.  
>They parted and Loki almost missed the appreciative nod of Bruce when Steve spoke again.<br>"Can you heal the others, Loki?"

The god nodded and followed the mortal to his injured friends, Bruce and Thor watching as he healed them effortlessly, waking them up afterwards.

They groaned and when they pulled themselves up, it came to no one's surprise that Tony was the first to regain his usual wit.  
>"Don't tell me, we missed all the fun."<p>

Clint looked around, noticing how few dead bodies lay here.  
>"Did we win? Is Thanos gone?"<p>

Loki nodded.  
>"Yes, he is back where he belongs. I hope his people will make his life a living hell for everything he did and we will never see him again."<p>

Before anyone of them was able to respond, Steve stepped around Loki and pulled Tony into a hug that was more intimate than the one he had shared with Loki.  
>"You saved me back there. Thank you for that."<p>

Tony didn't make a joke of it, but returned the hug and that fact alone made the others smile and keep their mouths shut, watching the scene silently.  
>"I didn't really save you, I was too far away, you know."<p>

"Yeah, but you tried. You left Loki alone there for me and while I could slap you for the danger you brought him in, I can't do it, because I appreciate why you did it."

Tony smiled against his shoulder, before his eyes met Loki's.  
>"You knew I would come for him, didn't you? You manipulated me by ordering those Frost Giants to kill him."<p>

"Yes, that is why I suggested you should be paired up with me. Everyone else wouldn't have fallen for it, because they would have either been rational enough to suspect I was fooling them or convinced that this was all part of my plan to defeat Thanos. I used your compassion for Steve to my advantage and I have to admit I am not sorry."

Tony smiled and finally pulled away from Steve, but Thor was standing at Loki's side now, a confused look in his eyes.  
>"Loki, I can feel the power coming from you. Why are you still holding the magic in? It is dangerous and there is no need to hold on to it, now that the victory is ours."<p>

The moment of the truth had come and Loki lowered his gaze.  
>"Because the most difficult spell has not been performed yet. Surtur and Freyr know this, that is why their magic has not returned to them already. And the seidr of the binding spell knows I am only doing this for your own good, so it did not return to you either."<p>

He could feel the confused looks of the humans while Thor's hand was gripping his chin gently and forcing the younger god to meet his eyes.  
>"Loki, you are scaring me. I have not forgotten what you told Thanos and I get the feeling it has something to with your behavior now."<p>

"You are right. I meant every word I said to him. I am not good for you."

Thor shook his head in denial, his hand coming to a rest at Loki's neck, stroking his hair lightly.  
>"This is nonsense, you are the one I need. You are my other half, the one I have been waiting for all my life. I want to be with you."<p>

Loki had to fight back the tears although he had known these words would come.  
>"I believe you, I really do. These past days were the best moments of my entire existence and I will always treasure them. But I am not perfect, you know that too, I will make a mistake and screw things up. And one day I will make one I cannot make amends for. It even may kill you."<p>

"Loki, you do not know that! I might die in battle and-"

Thor was cut off by Loki shouting desperately.  
>"Yes, I know! And I would be left behind to mourn you and be strangled by the darkness in my heart. Do you really not see it, my love? You are the light to my darkness, the only reason for me to be the better man, to try being good. And even if I fail horribly in that, I still cannot be evil, because then you would stop loving me. You need to stay alive, because you are my anchor that I hold on to even in the darkest of times. And because I love you more than you can ever know."<br>As soon as he had finished, Loki's eyes turned completely green again and he let the _seiðr_ flow through his veins.

Everyone gasped when they felt a pain in their heads and their vision turned black when they heard Loki's voice.

_No one can remember this.  
>Not Muspelheim, not Alfheim, not Asgard, not S.H.I.E.L.D and especially not you.<br>I hate myself for doing this, but I told you, I would watch an entire realm burn if it could save Thor.  
>I will set back Midgard's time to a point where your life's will unfold differently, a time where you have been happy.<br>As for the other realms, even now I am not powerful enough to do that, there is too much magic in their hearts. But I can create an illusion, fake memories of fights in the realms due to my attempted destruction of Jotunheim and Midgard, this will explain the dead bodies I cannot restore that easily since their souls have already entered a realm, no living person should set a foot on.  
>Thor, this is the last time you see me like this, not because I will erase your memories of this time, but because this will be the last time, I will allow myself to feel like this. Because I will be able to remember everything we had, from the moment you kissed me for the first time to now that I will kiss you for the last time. I need to be the man I was to be able to deal with this. I never wanted to shut my love for you away again, but I know what I need to be to keep you alive: The darkness to your light. The moon to your sun.<em>

He planted a soft kiss on Thor's lips who responded to it immediately, trying to keep Loki close, but before he could deepen the kiss, Loki pulled back and freed his magic to bury the memories to never let them surface again, screaming as it searched the realms for every creature that he needed to alter its mind. Loki felt like his body was on fire as the spell he was performing fed from the _seiðr_ of the bindings spell, and when the magic he had lent from Surtur and Freyr finally left him to return to their owners.

And then the pain stopped and Loki realized his surroundings had changed. Thor was still standing next to him, but his hand as well as Loki's had wrapped around a familiar blue-glowing artifact between them. Loki looked up from the Tesseract to Thor who watched him warily and then a deep voice joined in.

"I am glad you have returned safely, my Prince. I have watched you fight Loki side by side with the humans, but I was worried, because you have left Midgard months ago and I was not able to see you. It seems you were caught in a time-space disruption. You are lucky I was able to prevent Lady Sif and the Warrior's Three from searching for you."

Thor furrowed his brow.  
>"I was not aware this much time had passed. It felt like mere minutes."<p>

Heimdall nodded.  
>"This is the nature of a time-space disruption. But this talk has to wait or later. Your father awaits you and the war criminal."<p>

Thor nodded and grabbed Loki's arm with his free hand, pulling the raven-haired with him. Loki had known it would hurt to let Thor go and so he wasn't surprised at the sting in his heart. Everything was just like it was supposed to be.


	15. Chapter 15

_Midgard_

The man extended his hand to Silver with a warm smile.  
>"Miss Rakastava, it's great to finally meet you. My name is William Stancy. I will show you around on your first day."<p>

Silver calmed down at his friendly tone.  
>"That's very kind of you, Mr. Stancy."<p>

To her surprise he motioned her to walk down the stairs with him instead of using the elevator.  
>"I'll introduce you to your superior, Miss Romanoff."<p>

She followed him as he approached a beautiful red-haired woman that turned to them with an honest smile.  
>"You must be Silver Rakastava, I guess. Welcome at Stark Industries."<p>

She held out her hand and Silver took it with an insecure smile that didn't slip the woman's attention.

"Please call me Natasha, I'm not too fond with all the politeness at work, it's hard to make friends that way."

Silver couldn't help but like her. Natasha seemed to be very down to earth despite her high position in the company.  
>"I'm a bit curious who are going to be my colleagues."<p>

"You already met the first one."  
>Natasha's gaze turned to Stancy, then returned to Silver.<br>"He is quite new here, too, but there'll be two others who are a bit older and have more experience."

Silver nodded and left with William at her side, listening as he was beginning to tell her about the other offices and whom she would like.

Natasha sighed as she noticed how crowdy the office had become in the last hour and she quickly grabbed her black leather jacket to get some fresh air. Just when she left the building, she noticed a man leaning at a tree, watching her. She didn't need to look at him to recognize him.  
>"Clint, you shouldn't be here."<p>

Finally the man moved, stepping closer and Natasha was pleasently surprised to see him in a suit.  
>"Nick should give you the command more often if it means you'll always dress up like this."<p>

Clint grinned before he held out his hand to her.  
>"Actually, you're the reason why I'm looking this ridiculous."<p>

Natasha blinked at him in confusion.  
>"Me? But why?"<p>

"I heard you need to represent _Stark__Industries_ tonight and since our favorite billionaire decided to leave you alone to this task, I was thinking you could need some back-up."

The thoughtful gesture surprised her and ignoring the warmth that spread in her heart, she took his hand.  
>"You thought I could need a man at my side."<p>

Clint had the nerve to grin even more broadly at that.  
>"Just to keep the stalkers away, of course."<p>

"You mean, the competition."

He stepped closer until she could feel his breath ghosting at her lips.  
>"If you want to put it like that. But tell me, are they a real competition, Nat?"<br>He closed his eyes and kissed her innocently, just a little brush of lips that had her craving for more.

"No, they aren't."

~0~

"Why not?"

Steve glared at Nick before he responded.  
>"Because I don't think I would be a good agent!"<br>He threw his bag over his shoulder, leaving the gym to almost collide with Bruce and Tony who were watching them from the door.

But Nick had no intention of letting him get away this easily.  
>"Rogers, we need you. You are strong, you have experience, all you need is more practice. I would team you up with Romanoff if that helps. She's the best agent and you could learn much from her."<p>

Steve turned around to him, his voice as annoyed as he felt.  
>"Look, I haven't even accustomed to life in the 21st century. Let me handle that and then we can talk about joining S.H.I.E.L.D, okay?"<br>He didn't wait for an answer, but left the gym with Bruce and Tony following close behind.

A bit more tensed than usually, Steve slid into the front seat of Tony's car, causing Bruce to murmur to himself, "Why is it always me who's gotta sit in the backseat?"

Still, Tony who had also rounded the car, had managed to hear him.  
>"Because he's the Captain, that's why."<p>

"No, because you like him better than me," Bruce responded with a little smile.  
>He didn't mind it, because he had recognized their chemistry for what it was though they were too blind to see it. Bruce was still debating whether he should stick around with them to be amused by their little arguments or if he should leave them alone so that they could let off some steam. He still had a bet with Natasha how long it would take them to get to their senses.<p>

_Asgard  
><em>

Very slowly, Loki was crossing the hall of Asgard's throne room, wearing chains that bound his magic and followed by a group of guards. Odin was sitting on top of the throne, staring down at him without any emotion visible in his expression. It didn't surprise Loki, Odin had always been poor in handling emotions which was the reason why his adopted son had now ended up here in the first place. From the corner of his eye, Loki could see his mother standing beside one of the pillars, disappointment in her eyes as she looked at him and Loki felt a little sting in his heart that he chose to ignore.

"Loki" she called hesitantly, her voice laced with pity.

"Hello Mother. Have I made you proud?"

There was a shade of hurt in her eyes, her voice pleading.  
>"Please do not make this any worse."<p>

But Loki knew since the damage was already done, even good manners wouldn't spare him the cell.  
>"Define worse."<p>

"Enough!" Odin interrupted them impatiently. "I will speak to the prisoner alone."

Frigga, giving Loki one final icy glance turned around and left them. Her departure made it easier for the trickster to keep up his mask since he had lost all of the affection he had once held for his adoptive father, to whom he turned now, lunging his leg before standing at attention in a mock greeting, a fake smile plastered on his face.

"I really do not see what all the fuzz is about."

Odin just looked down at him with suppressed anger in his voice.  
>"Do you not truly feel the gravity of your crimes? Wherever you go, there is war, ruin and death."<p>

"I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent God. Just like you."

"We are not gods! We are born, we live, we die, just as humans do."

Feeling the need to correct the Allfather, Loki countered, "Give or take five thousand years."  
>Loki didn't even try to hide his sassy grin, after saying that.<p>

"All this because Loki desires … a throne."

"It is my birthright!" Loki said, his voice rising in anger.

"Your birthright ... was to die … as a child."

Loki blinked trying not to let Odin see how much his words hurt him despite Loki's hatred towards him.

"Cast out onto a frozen rock."  
>It was the first time, Odin had voiced his condemnation and it didn't comfort Loki to know he had been right about the Allfather's perception concerning him.<br>"If I had not taken you in, you would not be here now to hate me."

_„__If I am for the axe then for Mercy's sake, just swing it. It is not that I do not love our little talks it is just… I do not love them."_

_Odin didn't react to it, but told him.  
>"Frigga is the only reason you are still alive, and you will never see her again. You will spend the rest of your days in the dungeon."<em>

_His mother standing up for him came as a surprise to Loki, but she hadn't actually changed his fate for the better. Not seeing her again, was too be expected, but the thought still pained him and he wondered about Thor. Would his brother still come to him, even if all he knew was that Loki had turned on him again? Loki needed to know, but he could not show how much he cared, so he approached the topic from – for Odin - a more believable side.  
><em>_"__And what of Thor? You'll make that witless oaf king while I rot in chains?"_

As he had calculated Odin took his tone as a sign of lashing out.  
><em>"<em>_Thor must strive to undo the damage you have done. He will bring order to the nine realms and then, yes, he will be king__."_

_Even if Odin hadn't particularly told him anything about Thor's emotional state, Loki could guess that this meant, Thor had finally given up on him, too. Loki was barely registering that one guard was pushing him away from Odin to bring him back to his cell. Why did it still hurt so much? He had gotten what he had wanted, Thor was save and ignorant to what had happened between them, giving him the opportunity to live the happy life he deserved._

_When they had reached the end of the throne room, Thor came into view, obviously to discuss things with the Allfather, before he was off to the fights in the next realm.  
>It was a split second in which his eyes met Loki's, that the younger one could see that familiar expression of love, Thor had showed him since they had been children.<br>But then Thor's blue orbs turned cold and icy, even more distant than Frigga's had been and it was that moment when Loki realized for the first time, what he could have had so long ago and what he had let go of recently. Loki broke the eye contact, struggling not to let his emotions betray him and he blinked back the tears._

_This is for the better, __he reminded himself and when Thor was finally out of sight, Loki put up his walls again, allowing himself to be swallowed by the cocoon in his heart that had protected him for so long.  
>When he tried to fill his heart with hate, the only emotion that could make this easier, it mixed with his love for Thor and when he was locked up in his cell again, all that was left behind was rage.<em>

_**THE END**_


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